In fact, there were probably signs of that positive tension at the beginning of the week and well before jetting over to Georgia via Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday as I embarrassingly struggled to break 100 around Castle Hume - yes, that's right, 100! Trying to imagine how Rory or Scottie would approach each shot or hack, as some might suggest, I took didn’t provide the inspiration I was looking for. As we all know, they make it look far too easy. And with that in mind, I’ll not be putting my name forward for the annual journalist lottery that allows a select few hacks to play the course on the Monday after the championship is decided. Why embarrass myself even further! As someone who is currently on his sixth visit to The Masters, the nerves remain; there’s no sign of blase kicking in; excitement is on an upward trajectory from January onwards when the media are cordially invited to apply for access. That’s because this week at Augusta, for me, is the greatest sporting occasion of them all. I’ve had the unbelievable privilege of ticking off many on the bucket list - from FA Cup finals, to the Wimbledon Championships, to the Olympics and The Open, plus Northern Ireland’s 2016 European Championships campaign in France. But nothing compares to being amongst the patrons for the first major of the golfing season. It’s why I often have to tell Mrs McMahon that I’m heading off on my travels each Spring, leaving her to look after the dog, and keeping a careful eye on the bank balance. She’ll no doubt be pleased to know that I resisted an early visit to the Augusta golf shop upon my arrival at 7.30am on Thursday. Although, it wasn’t because I’m keeping a firmer grip on my spending habits. Instead, even at that time, the queue of would-be-shoppers was snaking around the main gathering point just to the right of the first fairway. I’ll just have to wait for the right moment later in the week! A more leisurely walk around Augusta’s world-famous and carefully manicured greens and fairways was a more appropriate start to my 2025 Masters reunion. It gave me the opportunity to reacquaint myself with the extraordinary beauty that is ANGC, to get a feel of the atmosphere among the 200,000 patrons expected to pass through over the next four days; and to see huge smiles on faces partially covered by the mandatory sunglasses and baseball cap! This year’s Masters has been a long time coming for many locals, after the devastation that Hurricane Helen left in its wake last September. It was abundantly clear straight away that this was something everyone was looking forward to. So I wasn’t on my own as I ticked down the days to my Augusta return. That child-like feeling exists every year, though, and I thoroughly recommend you take the opportunity to travel out here if the opportunity presents itself the future. I keep telling Mrs McMahon I’ll keep making the annual pilgrimage until either Rory McIlroy wins his first Green Jackett or finances dictate otherwise. Although, I think we both know that’s just not true!