AS the thousands upon thousands pass down Magnolia Drive over the next four days there are very few, if any, better placed to pass judgement on those taking part in the Masters than the legendary Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus.

A winner of the Green Jacket for a record six times, the last of which was in 1986 at the age of 46, Nicklaus is arguably the greatest golfer to walk the planet and is intrigued by the four-way battle to become the world's No 1 that is gripping the sport.

Vijay Singh has the honour going into the first round at the Augusta National today, but the general feeling is that he could be toppled by any of Tiger Woods, Ernie Els or Phil Mickelson, who will have glory on their mind in Georgia late on Sunday night.

Nicklaus, due to tee off in his staggering 45th and possibly last Masters today, has his own opinion on who deserves to be at the pinnacle of the standings and, unsurprisingly, it is the man nearest to his record of 18 majors.

"I don't think Tiger has played his best the last year or so, but he's still obviously the dominant player," said Nicklaus about an American whose famous Tiger charge has become more of a brief spurt of late.

"He's got so much talent. Like anybody who has dominated the game - myself maybe or whoever it might have been at the time - Tiger doesn't have to play his best to win. But when he plays his best he's probably going to win."

Woods' eight major triumphs, the last of which was in the US Open three years ago, makes him the only recognised challenger to Nicklaus' implausible achievement.

The fact he has waited so long to add to his growing list makes him dangerous but the triumvirate of Fijian Singh, fellow American Mickelson and South African Els are certain to ensure an entertaining fight to the finish - one thing about the Georgian course is class always seems to prevail.

It would also be nave to rule out the possibility of a similar ending to 12 months ago, when Mickelson celebrated his first major victory, denying Els his first Masters success.

While all eyes initially will be on the marvellous quartet there will be another South African, Retief Goosen, quietly going about his business on the hauntingly beautiful Augusta course. Perhaps because of being struck by lightning at the age of 12 and being unable to hold a club for two years, Goosen has always chosen to approach life in the slow lane.

His quiet persona has kept out of the limelight and restricted him from seriously climbing in among the world's top four. But his game has been in impressive shape and, although yet to win this year, he has hopes of muscling in.

One man without the opportunity to upset the apple cart is Colin Montgomerie. Monty has enjoyed a love-hate relationship over the years with the public on the other side of the Atlantic but failed to qualify this time after slipping out of the world's top 50.

It is a real shame for the Scot, who knows every corner of Augusta in a bitter-sweet kind of way. He would have relished the opportunity to silence the American galleries who have hampered his assaults across the pond by asking, for example, where he gets his sports bras from?

There is no question that Montgomerie should be there. If the puzzling inclusion of Japan's Shingo Katayama was designed to increase popularity in the Far East then it has come at Monty's expense. Despite his run-ins, he would have become the sixth most popular winner at the most naturally beautiful course around, especially when the sunlight reflects off the giant dogwoods and azaleas.

At least there will be no fear of him forgetting his clubs as one of his fellow professionals did this week.

In a hilarious development, that brought back memories of when Nick Faldo famously forgot his golf trousers, Swede Jesper Parnevik left the tools of his trade on his Orlando doorstep and had Woods fly them to Georgia for him.

Whether they are Ping, Maxfli or Taylor-Made, the brand and design of a golfer's equipment will not guarantee success in Augusta.

It takes a mix of special attributes to win the Masters. Nerve, accuracy and a silky putting stroke are essential, while every competitor needs to have confidence oozing from him.

But, perhaps most of all, luck is more often than not the most mitigating factor in deciding who adorns the highly-coveted Green Jacket that Nicklaus made his own.