Absence from the Augusta state of mind makes my golfing heart ache | Andy Bull

Plenty are immune to the Masters' idiosyncratic charms, but I find myself in pandemic exile pining for the place

The second weekend in April brings the Masters and with it all manner of pressing questions. Like whether Rory McIlroy just might, if Lee Westwood really could, or Bryson DeChambeau really should. Then: whether to go for egg salad or pimento cheese, take your ice tea sweet or not, and if you have any room left for another Georgia peach ice cream sandwich. These last are surely the greatest contribution Augusta National's chairman emeritus, Billy Payne, made to the game during all his years in charge of the club, and ample justification for his somewhat incongruous presence in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

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