Why magical Masters week is just what golf needed after rowdy Ryder Cup

Chic dresses in appropriate colours for this tournament have been adorned by those female patrons for the practice days at the Georgia venue and lots of male golfers, of course, don’t need an excuse to wear bright polo shirts out on a golf course in this day and age.

In short, it helped create the sort of environment in the build up to the event’s 90th edition that you could say was badly needed following the rowdy affair that was last year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.

It has to be acknowledged, of course, that the grounds of this place are sanitised in comparison to a public facility close to New York, but let’s give credit where credit is due because the Green Jackets are, whether some might not be prepared to admit it, ticking boxes in golf.

The Augusta National Women’s Amateur, held for a seventh time last week, has been a huge success, as has the Drive, Chip & Putt junior event, with its 12th edition being played on Sunday. Competitors in that in the past have gone on to tee up in both the Masters and the ANWA.

Even the cynics, myself included, I must admit, would struggle to argue that those two events are now playing a big part in trying to grow golf and, let’s face it, that’s what Augusta National, the PGA of America, the USGA and The R&A should be using the four majors to try and do.

Held for a lot longer than the ANWA and Drive, Chip & Putt, the Par 3 Contest is also good for the game, providing a bit of fun for the players and their families in particular but the patrons, too, and just think about the impact some of those cute images on social media have with people all around the world.

In short, it’s a week that puts smiles on faces and that’s even before the Honorary Starters - Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson - step on to the first tee on a Thursday morning and get the tournament underway.

It’s thrown up some brilliant storylines in recent years. Tiger Woods, for example, capping his incredible fightback from career-threatening back surgeries, by landing a fifth Green Jacket win in 2019. Scottie Scheffler delivering two victories in the space of three years. Jon Rahm adding to previous Spanish successes by Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal. And, most recently, Rory McIlroy finally getting over the line here to become just the sixth career grand slam winner and we all saw exactly what that meant to him.

Only three players - Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods - have successfully defended this title, with Woods being the last person to achieve the feat in 2002. It may have taken McIlroy 17 attempts to get his win, but don’t be surprised if the floodgates have been opened.

“I think for the past 17 years I just could not wait for the tournament to start, and this year I wouldn't care if the tournament never started,” he said, laughing, in his pre-event press conference, for which he wore his Green Jacket. “Yeah, it's completely different. I feel so much more relaxed. I know that I'm going to be coming back here for a lot of years, going to enjoy the perks that the champions get here. It doesn't make me any less motivated to go out there and play well and try to win the tournament, but, yeah, just more relaxed about it all.”

Which, quite frankly, makes him dangerous because few players have the ability to play this course better than he can and, having finally added to his major tally after a drought that had lasted more than a decade, the Northern Irishman will now be looking to kick on this year in the game’s marquee events.

You’d be foolish to rule out Scheffler, the undisputed world No 1 and reigning Open champion, in any of the majors these days, while the likes of Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and Cameron Young are other likely contenders this week. You get the feeling Rahm wants to prove a point after making himself unpopular with some European fans over his DP World Tour stance while DeChambeau, the star man so far this season on the LIV Golf League, has shown with his last two efforts here that he could well be cracking the code.

A decade after Danny Willett sprung a surprise, English hopes are high through a contingent that includes three-time runner-up Justin Rose, FedEx Cup winner Tommy Fleetwood and an in-form Matthew Fitzpatrick.

A Scottish success could also be on the cards. Inspired by Sandy Lyle’s win in 1988, Bob MacIntyre is feeling quietly confident about his chances and rightly so. He came close in last year’s US Open at Oakmont and the Oban man just gets better and better. If it comes down to a proper battle on Sunday afternoon and he’s in the thick of it, MacIntyre certainly won’t be scared.

After both cold and wet editions in recent years, this one could be the first dry Masters since 2011 and the temperature is set to rise each day, climbing to the mid-80s for the final round on Sunday. With little in the way of wind, conditions will be absolutely perfect.

The scene is set for one of the great events in sport to be in the spotlight and, for anyone wondering if the war in Iran is being mentioned much around Augusta National, the answer is ‘no’. The Strait of Hormuz clearly isn’t the top of agendas when a trip to Amen Corner is calling.