For the second year running Tiger Woods arrived for the Masters on the Sunday before the tournament.

Having spent the week at home honing the nuances of his game that will be most valuable at Augusta, Woods drove into the Augusta National car park around lunchtime.

He was soon on the course with best friend and 1998 champion Mark O’Meara. The world number one, who is bidding for a fifth Green Jacket and a first since 2005, saw his opening tee shot sail into a huge fairway bunker.

“Every time,” Woods was heard to mutter as he departed the first tee.

The BBC 5 Live team would never have been there in time to witness the shot, but we had hoped to make it to Augusta for dinner.

We felt fairly confident as our plans didn’t involve the troubled Terminal Five at Heathrow, but the British travel malaise had spread to Gatwick’s North Terminal.

A huge wait for a de-icing rig to remove snow from our wings meant that we took off five hours late. In that extended period you would have thought that there would have been time to load our entire luggage. But no! After finally arriving at 2.30 am our first stop now has to be the shopping mall for some clean clothes.

There are often European players on that flight, but thankfully not on this occasion, although Fanny Sunesson, Henrik Stenson’s caddie and Michael Kirk, Miguel Angel Jimenez’s bagman were on board.

Like mine, Kirk’s baggage didn’t make the journey.

Happily the local newspaper here, the Augusta Chronicle, has cheered us up with the news that it will be running a daily diary from Boo Weekley, who makes his Masters debut this week.

The 34-year-old American is refreshingly honest and is guaranteed to make for a fascinating and, I’m sure at times, hilarious read.

Weekley can't decide whether he’ll be apprehensive this week. “Why would you get nervous?” he wonders. “I know it’s a little different, but it’s just golf, man. It’s just another golf course, you know. They are all the same to me.”

Weekley said he initially didn’t know when the Masters was and that he had been planning to play in Houston and then take the week off. He has known that he has been eligible for the Masters since winning at Hilton Head almost a year ago.

“I’ll just go home and do some turkey shooting, that’s how I’ll prepare,” he said. He also admits that he hasn’t in the past watched much Masters golf on television.

“I’m not a big golf watcher. I know I’m supposed to be representing the Tour, but I’d much rather be watching Nascar.”

Deep down he is pretty chuffed to be at Augusta, though. Weekley admits it is an honour to be in the Masters field.

“It’s like shooting the biggest buck in the world. Now that is something I’d cut off my right arm for, or catching the largest bass in the world.

“That’s the only way I can relate it to me,” he said. I’m already looking forward to the next instalment.

Colin Montgomerie isn’t the only big name missing this week. By failing to win in Houston, Davis Love missed his final chance at gaining a spot in this year’s field.

This ends a run of 17 consecutive Augusta appearances for the former US PGA Champion.

Past winners have a lifetime ticket and no one gets better value from it that Gary Player. The 72-year-old three-times champion will surpass Arnold Palmer and play in a record 51st Masters this week.

Player intends returning next year and reflects on last year’s second-round 77 compiled in bitter, windy conditions, with huge pride.

That day the stroke average was 75.628. “The course was definitely the toughest it ever was in the history of the tournament,” he said.

“Put it in its proper perspective and it was probably one of the greatest rounds of my career.”