IT is 25 years since I made my first trip to Augusta and I still firmly believe my debut coincided with the finest moment of the Masters.

1986 was the year Jack Nicklaus arrived at Augusta having been labelled a ‘has-been’ by one member of the US media and used that not inconsiderable slight as an incentive to win the 18th and last Major title of his stunning career.

The Golden Bear’s performance on that final afternoon was truly remarkable and I can honestly say I watched every single shot he hit in an incredible 65 that saw him charge from four shots behind Greg Norman to win his sixth Green Jacket by one shot from Tom Kite.

When asked why I chose to walk the course with Nicklaus that day I reply it was simply because I wanted to watch his playing partner, my countryman Sandy Lyle, in action. 

It was a decision that was to provide me with my finest moment as a golf writer and to give me a front row seat as one of the most memorable moments in sport unfolded.

The Golden Bear came home in 30 strokes to win and reconfirm him as the best golfer ever. Not even Tiger Woods has done enough to usurp him although the latter has certainly left his mark at Augusta, winning four times and producing the tournament’s finest shot.

Many would select the famous 4-wood Gene Sarazen holed at the 15th in 1935 but I’m going to plump instead for the chip Woods holed from behind the 16th green while claiming his fourth title in 2005. Woods knew exactly what he had to do and, despite the pressure of the occasion, had the touch, skill and courage to achieve it. Truly remarkable – and all the more memorable because the ball hung on the lip before dropping.

Nick Faldo was not renowned for overpowering courses but he destroyed his great rival Greg Norman in 1996. He started the final round six adrift but gained the initiative with a steady par, birdie, par, par start before squeezing the life out of Norman with a remorseless 67 that saw him win by five. 

Step forward Scott Hoch. In 1989 he had a two-foot putt on the 10th to win a play-off against Faldo but managed to squirt it right of the hole. Known as ‘Hoch the Choke’ since.

Hometown boy Larry Mize holed a 140-foot pitch down the slope on the 11th to defeat Norman in 1987. It would have ended up in the water had it not struck the hole.

Mize is a contender but this accolade probably goes to ’46 champion Herman Keiser, whose only other victory of note came in the Miami Four Ball. His daughter later revealed he had arrived at Augusta with just $10 in his pocket but then borrowed cash to back himself at 60-1.

The Augusta food is always inexpensive. In 2006, 60 years after his victory, the most popular sandwich, made from Pimento cheese, still cost just $1.50. They are an acquired taste but the Corned Beef Hash in the clubhouse is  different. It has to be tasted to be believed.

Maybe Ed Sneed was thinking about food at the close of the ‘79 Masters or maybe it was just the pressure of the occasion that caused him to blow a three-shot lead with three holes to go. Sneed three-putted 16 then missed for par on 17. On the 18th his straightforward six-foot uphill putt for victory came up short before he lost to debutant Fuzzy Zoeller in a play-off.

Sneed posted a 76 on that occasion but that was some 19 shots better that the 95 recorded by Charles Kunkle Jr in the fourth round in 1956. Kunkle’s 340 aggregate (78, 82, 85, 95) is no fewer than 70 shots worse than the current tournament record, set by Tiger Woods when he finished 12 ahead of perennial runner-up Tom Kite in 1997.