91Èȱ¬

And to be able to function properly in competition, the practice days and preparations have to be spot on. This is a game of precision - and never more so than , where it is all about hitting the right spots on the fairways and greens.

Interestingly, the length of grass on the fairways seems a little longer than the tightly mown carpets the players are used to here. "You can see there has been a lot of growth and it gives a lot of potential for manoeuvrability towards the weekend," Harrington noted.

In other words, the Augusta National is not showing its hand. The playing characteristics of the course remain an unknown quantity. "They haven't thinned out the grass. We are getting much better lies in the fairways," confirmed Phil Mickelson.

Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Paul Casey lead the English challenge at Augusta

"The grass is a little bit longer around the greens and we can chip, as opposed to being forced to putt. I don't know if that's going to change on Thursday or not," the two-time champion added.

The which means the ball is flying further than usual. According to the forecast, cooler and potentially thundery weather is heading our way to coincide with the start of the tournament.

So, on all fronts, it is very hard to predict what is going to happen in the 2010 Masters. It would be easier to speculate if we knew how the course will play.

What we do know is that there are any number of players capable of being crowned champion. It is perhaps the most wide open Masters we have ever seen.

Hopes are high for British success. , and he has devoted the last fortnight to being totally prepared for the first major of the year.

Poulter had re-gripped all of his clubs and, typical of the self-made man that he is, he did the job himself.

But can he make that giant leap that would make a rather staid Green Jacket the most significant garment in his ? Poulter's previous best at Augusta is a share of 13th place in 2007, and in 20 rounds here he has only broken 70 twice.

But both of those sub-70 rounds have come in his last two visits, and he has the "bottle" should he put himself in contention. , when he holed a putt on the 72nd green that he thought might win him the Open.

The man Poulter beat in the Match Play final, but he pulled out of Houston because of shoulder and neck problems.

Since , Casey has struggled to play a consistent draw, and that would be a valuable asset at the Masters.

On that basis, was on a par with the standard that swept him to his brilliant win at last year's season-ending Dubai World Championship.

Westwood will need to be at his best from tee to green because, while his short game has improved massively, he will not want to be overly reliant on his wedges.

The man from Worksop is tailoring his entire year towards satisfying his quest for a first major title. "That's all that's missing from my career," he readily admits, and he seems comfortable with the hype he attracts. "No one has higher expectation levels than me," he says.

New dad is flying under the radar but, although he is not the longest hitter, his tidy short game means he is capable of joining the mix come Sunday.

Rory McIlroy has endured a disappointingly quiet start to the season. A troublesome back prevented the Northern Ireland 20-year-old from building on two top-six finishes that began his year in the Middle East.

McIlroy's high-ball flight is well suited to Augusta, but what about his touch on the greens? Maybe it's still a bit early in his career to think of him as a favourite, but he has the talent and is cutting a much cheerier figure than the one we have seen frustrated in recent weeks in America.

By virtue of being a three-time major winner, Harrington leads the European charge and is happy with the graph of his results heading into Augusta, with two top-10 finishes in his last three outings. The Irishman feels ready.

Other Europeans who could make a challenge include Robert Karlsson, Henrik Stenson, Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer, but none of these has shown much consistency in the build-up. Perhaps it is too much to expect them to become the first European winner here.

. On that basis, the omens are good again for the Argentine because his results have again not been encouraging.

But we surely have to look elsewhere for a potential 'rest of the world' player. off the back of his two wins and multiple near misses at Augusta.

The South African is certainly in a far better place than he was in any of the last three years, when he has failed to make it to the weekend.

, but there is every chance of more celebration for the country.

Not just Els, but Retief Goosen has the game if his putter is in 'hit' rather than 'miss' mode, and then there is the prodigious talent of Charl Schwartzel, a two-time winner this year, and the in-form Louis Oosthuizen.

Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby and Adam Scott offer hope of a first Australian success, and then there are the Americans.

Take your pick from world number two Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Fred Couples (surely a decent each-way bet), Anthony Kim and Mickelson, who will be playing his 18th Masters.

, while the bookies have him as favourite. You write him off at your peril, but surely it is asking too much in all the circumstances, even allowing for what has already been a public relations triumph this week.

Nevertheless, you have to put him in the mix along with a whole host of players. This blog has mentioned no fewer than 22 potential contenders and hasn't found room from the reigning US Open (Lucas Glover), Open (Stewart Cink) and US PGA (YE Yang) champions.

That just proves the point - it is anyone's Masters, an event shrouded in uncertainty from weather to course to players. One prediction - I'd be amazed if it is not a cracking tournament.