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Watching or playing, Masters is a dream

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Martin Laird | 10:31 UK time, Tuesday, 6 April 2010

I've never played but would obviously love to one day. I don't want to go until I'm in the Masters field and going there to prepare for the tournament.

I'm not a huge watcher of golf when I'm not playing, but the is one of a select few tournaments that I do like to watch, especially on Sunday.

I think it's because it's the only major that's at the same course every year. You know all the holes on the back nine and the drama that can unfold over the final stretch.

The memories that stick out for me from watching as a kid are collapse in the final round in 1996, when won. Norman was always my favourite player when I was younger, so that made it a tough one to watch.

Everyone remembers Norman's collapse, but very few people remember how well Faldo played, shooting 67 to win by five.

really bursting onto the world scene by blowing the field away by 12 shots, and breaking about every record known in 1997, is also something I probably won't ever forget watching.

The guys all get pretty excited this time of year and you definitely notice them out on the range this week working a little harder than normal. You can tell all the players are excited to get there and want to make sure they're as ready as they can be for the first major of the year.

Most of the guys I've talked to have already been to Augusta at some point over the past few weeks to play practice rounds. Making that trip shows how big this tournament is to everyone.

It's normally a pretty easy decision to pick the winner, with either or being a pretty safe bet. This year is a little different, though, with Tiger making his first appearance in what seems like forever and Phil obviously fighting his game a little.

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But, even with these things, I still think that both players will be right there on the weekend. It's tough to bet against Tiger, the best player ever to play the game, regardless of what has happened over the last few months.

is obviously playing great right now and looks to have rediscovered some of the form that made him a contender almost every week for so many years. He has to have a lot of confidence right now and watching him make clutch putts on the last few holes to win at says a lot about how he's playing.

It would be great to see a strong European contingent up the top of the leaderboard with one of them putting the green jacket on at the end of the week. We managed a nice run at Augusta for a good few years, with Faldo, Langer, Olazabal, Woosnam and Lyle winning seven green jackets in a nine-year spell. Let's hope there's another strong run like that coming.

It'd definitely be a dream come true for me if I could get my name up there on the leaderboard and one day get a green jacket. Bar , it's the one tournament that I'd love not only to play in but hopefully have a chance to win.

The golf course has so much mystique about it and you always hear that it's so different when you actually get there than what you think from watching on TV. I can't wait until I get my first invite and experience it all for myself.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to meet last week at Bay Hill and have a chat with him. It was just one of those things that our schedules were completely opposite all week and our paths never actually crossed.

I would've loved the chance to pick his brain about a few things. He was obviously the dominant player in Europe for so long when I was growing up and I know I can learn a lot from him that would hopefully help me become a better player.

It was nice to hear that he had said some complimentary things about me and my game.

Hopefully, I can get my game sorted out a little over the next few months and see if I can make an outside run at the European team.

I know that I probably have to win again or have some very strong showings at big tournaments this summer to stake a claim for a place. I know I can do it and I'm going to work hard to try and make it happen.

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