Thirty years ago the American magazine 'Golf Digest' led their preview of the Masters with a question. Can this teenager win?
The youngster in the spotlight was Seve Ballesteros, who had yet to play a major in America, but the previous July had been runner-up to Johnny Miller in the Open at Birkdale and had gone on that season to top the European Order of Merit - with the grand total of £21,495.

Now we are in 2007 and as the Masters approaches again there are two different questions to be asked. Will this 49-year-old play? And if he does, how bad will he be?

The golfer is, of course, the same Ballesteros, but merely in name. He used to be swashbuckling, but on the rare occasions he has been seen in recent times his ailing back and ailing game appear only to be buckling.

After a crushing defeat to Colin Montgomerie at the 2003 Seve Trophy - the event named in his honour - Ballesteros did not play competitively again for two years and that comeback resulted in him finishing next to last at the Madrid Open.

It was eight months before he re-appeared, but he was a sad sight once more in the French Open. Back-to-back rounds of 81 left him in last place on 20 over par.

Nevertheless, Ballesteros kept a promise to his son that he would return to the Open championship after a gap of five years and while rounds of 74 and 77 at Hoylake meant he missed the cut by eight strokes he was sufficiently encouraged to announce in December that he was planning a tournament schedule for this year.

The stated intention was to play as many as 14 events on the Seniors Tour once he turned 50 on April 9, but the tentative schedule also included the Masters on April 5-8 and the Open at Carnoustie in July.

There was also talk of some warm-up tournaments for Augusta on the US Tour, but with no sight so far some have been prompted to wonder if there will be a late withdrawal.

However, the word from his management company this week is that the Masters will now be Ballesteros' first event since the Open - and he will definitely be there.

Ballesteros last made the halfway cut in 1996 - it is the last time he made the cut in any major - and his last appearance in 2003 ended with a second-round 85, his worse score in 90 circuits of the hallowed turf.

Twelve months later he was in the States preparing when the back pain became too much, while in 2005 the twice champion was kept out by knee cartilage trouble and last year he said his sole reason for not taking part was that "I am not as well prepared as I need to be to compete in such a magnificent tournament."

At his December press conference he was sounding much more upbeat.

"Effectively I have been retired for the last few years, but now is the time to get serious," he said. "When I returned at the British Open I did better than I expected.

"It's a new challenge and I am confident in my abilities. Only time will tell from here on.

"My plan is to continue playing for another four or five years. That doesn't mean I'll retire then. I could decide to continue further. I just like to set objectives for myself."

So what is a realistic objective for him on an Augusta National course that at 7,445 yards is 155 yards longer than when he last played - and 520 yards longer than when he won his second title in 1983?

Ballesteros last broke par for 18 holes there in 1995 and for the 20 rounds he has played since he is a cumulative 112 over par.

For anyone who saw him in his prime there is no joy in such statistics. At the peak of his powers he was just electifying.

Some of the sport's greatest names felt the same.

Lee Trevino said: "Seve at his best was the best golfer I ever saw. Jack (Nicklaus) was the greatest chess player ever. He made a plan. Tiger makes a plan. Seve never made a plan, he just made things happen.

"He had something we didn't have. He was a much better player than I was. I couldn't handle him."

This year's defending champion Phil Mickelson commented: "I remember I was nine and watching on tv when he won the Masters in 1980. As he was strolling up the fairway on 18 with this big lead I remember thinking 'I want that to be me some day'. I loved his game."

As for what went wrong Nick Price appeared to have put his finger on the physical side of things when he observed that Ballesteros "had an unusual takeaway. When he was winning majors he was athletic and supple enough to compensate, but it caught up with him later."

Then there was the mental side. In trying to fight his way out of his slump Ballesteros, given no end of advice, had trouble deciding what was best for him. So much so that in the end nothing seemed to work.

Woods' former coach Butch Harmon said: "He never stuck with one person. He went to everybody and tried too many quick fixes. A swing change takes time, but Seve always wanted it right now and he got confused."