Norman proof that Masters offers no guarantees

It was written in the stars. With their powerful long games, silky smooth swings and superstar swagger, it was simply a question of when, not if, they would win the Masters.

Fast forward to 2014 from the heady days of the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s when Tom Weiskopf, Johnny Miller and Greg Norman were in their pomp, and a 24-year old from Northern Ireland is now that man — the Chosen One.

Ranked the 8-1 favourite to don the famous green jacket here on Sunday evening, Rory McIlroy is regarded as the man to beat. And yet as he makes his sixth appearance at Augusta National this week with Tiger Woods flat on his back in Florida, it may surprise some to hear that McIlroy has yet to record a Top-10 finish in the Masters.