In stark contrast to the days and years in the 80s and on into the 90s when the so-called "Big Five" of Seve and Nick and Sandy and Bernhard and Ian dominated the US Masters, between them winning nine green jackets in a 16-year period, there hasn't been a European winner since Jose Maria Olazabal managed to win at Augusta in 1999.

On current form, Luke Donald, the most upwardly mobile of the European players in the official world rankings (ninth), would seem to represent the best chance of ending that barren statistic. A third-place finish on his debut here a year ago confirms a liking for the course, and his sights are set higher for his return.

"I'm upping my goals now. Finishing in the top 10 is great, but I want to do more than that . . . there's no point coming here if I don't feel and expect to have a good chance to win. You know, I've cracked into the top 10 in the world rankings and the next step is to compete and win majors.

"I feel I have a good game for majors and I have every chance (of winning) if I'm playing good golf. I'm definitely not coming here just to make up the numbers. I'm trying to win," said Donald.

"The Masters is a tournament I grew up watching. I had a videotape of the best shots of the Masters and I think I could almost tell you every winner since about 1980 on. Just watching those shots was one of my fondest memories of growing up," added Donald.