AUGUSTA National Golf Club has done such a fine job of creating a narrative around the annual quest for the green jacket that great stories, often fuelled by the metaphorical passing of a baton, have emerged year after year.

In 1978 Seve Ballesteros watched playing partner Gary Player complete victory in the final round and afterwards pumped the South African’s hand in congratulations before crying: “You have shown me how to win.” Two years later it was the Spaniard who went home in green.

Sandy Lyle had a similar experience, writing in his autobiography that playing alongside Jack Nicklaus in the final round of his famous 1986 triumph taught the Scot how to cope with errors, remain focused, take advantage of good fortune and strike when the opportunity presented itself. In 1988 he put the lesson into practice.

Danny Willett was paired with Zach Johnson when the American added the 2015 Open to his 2007 Masters win, and the Yorkshireman said immediately afterwards that he’d been shown how to win a major. When his chance came a few months later, in the final round of the 2016 Masters, he impressed even Nicklaus who said: “When he realised he was in a position to win it, he finished it.” In the same vein, Charl Schwartzel was in no doubt that watching his close friend Louis Oosthuizen win the 2010 Open inspired his victory at the very next Masters.

The last two Masters tournaments have witnessed a very different, and downright bizarre, passing of the baton. Just what were the chances of one Masters champion (Scottie Scheffler in 2022) completing his win with a four-putt on the final green and the man who succeeded him (Jon Rahm last year) opening his account with a four-putt on the first green? That one was pure curiosity although the fact they could have faffed about with completing one hole does rather highlight how dominant the pair otherwise were in triumph.

Who will have a tale to tell at the end of this week? Might Talor Gooch’s suggestion that a Rory McIlroy win, and with it the completion of the career grand slam, require an asterisk (because some LIV golfers are absent) trigger the Northern Irishman? It could do. It might also have come too soon.

Will Scottie Scheffler trample the hopes of the field by keeping the putter lukewarm enough to make the most of his red-hot long game? It’s entirely possible but he’s a very short price this week.

An obvious incentive exists for LIV golfers: the chance to stick two fingers up at the establishment. But who? Jon Rahm faces the difficulties all defending champions encounter with the added irritant (or fuel for the fire in his belly) of LIV questions. Brooks Koepka will feel Augusta owes him one after last year. Cameron Smith likes an even-year Masters (all his top fives have come in them).

The chances of the above mentioned are admired but we’ll take them on with a quartet of picks.

Each Way – Shane Lowry at 45/1

Regular followers of the column might roll their eyes at the first pick but the fondness for Irishman Shane Lowry in the majors has not gone unrewarded and it remains the case that he adores the big weeks, and is also good at them. Last year might be considered a letdown and yet he still finished top 20 in three of the four titles that define a career. He revealed in a recent interview with the Irish Independent that playing with Tiger Woods at Augusta National in 2020 taught him valuable lessons in course strategy. He finished T25th that year, T21st in 2021, third in 2022 and T16th last year when column followers watched him flush it tee to green but struggle with an ice cold putter.

He left with understandably mixed feelings, saying after the final round: “I put a lot in and when I birdied 11 I thought, you never know here. I was feeling it. I tried and I failed but I’ll definitely try again. I’ve come here the last two years with a good game plan and I’ve executed very well.” He’s been in fine fettle this year, finishing fourth and third when contending at PGA National and Bay Hill, and his approach play, key at Augusta, has been excellent in recent weeks.

Each Way – Cameron Young at 50/1

Lowry was not alone in feeling a little irked when he left the property last year. The American Cameron Young said after finishing seventh: “I played really well, just made three doubles. It’s a bummer to feel I played well enough to win and fall a few short.” He shares more than a sense of frustration with Lowry, however. On the one hand, he’s been in fine form this year with the highlights third place in the Dubai Desert Classic and second last time out at Innisbrook. He’s also a fine major championship performer. He’s been second and eighth at the Open in the last two years, and was third in the 2022 PGA Championship. It’s true that he’s yet to win on the PGA Tour but he’s in form, playing in a calibre of event that suits and he had a front row seat to watch Rahm’s recovery from that four-putt last year as one of his playing partners.

Each Way – Corey Conners at 66/1

On his debut at Augusta, as an amateur in 2015, the Canadian Corey Conners was a little frazzled in the first round when totalling 80 but he hinted that he liked the place by carding a second round 69. Four years later he ended the first and second round four shots off the lead before tiredness took a toll and he slipped to T46th. The fatigue was a likely consequence of him winning the Texas Open the week before and a similar thing happened last year: he won in Texas and then missed the cut at Augusta.

But when he wasn’t a callow amateur or arriving fresh from the mental, physical and emotional toil of a win, Conners has really taken to Augusta. He was tenth in 2020, eighth in 2021 and sixth in 2022. He also flirted with winning the PGA Championship last year, sitting in the top two throughout the first 54 holes before finishing T12th. His form is solid rather than spectacular this year but his approach work has been excellent and his T25th last week in Texas proved it while not over-exerting him for this week’s test.

Each Way – Will Zalatoris at 35/1

Since graduating to the PGA Tour the 27-year-old American has proved himself a formidable major championship performer registering six top 10 finishes in seven US majors since the summer of 2020. Asked about this fondness for the greatest tests he said earlier this year: “They’re just hard and I love hard golf courses. You can’t fake it.” He added that his high quality ball-striking, rather than relatively weak putting, is favoured by the difficult greens encountered in the majors.

At Augusta itself, he finished second on debut in 2021 and was tied sixth in 2022. His 2023 was a wipe out because of a bad back and it is just possible that Zalatoris becomes a classic Masters tale. Because surgery on his spine took place during last year’s tournament and on Monday of this week he played nine holes with Tiger Woods discussing rehab and recovery. He added, of his form: “I am rolling (my putts) the best I ever have. Irons have always been great. Now, it’s about when it’s your week, it’s your week.”