So, leading up to just his second appearance at the Masters, you might expect him to be deliberately coy about the controversial transformation of Augusta National. In the end, he gets around the question by reporting what he has heard in the locker rooms of the PGA Tour.

"They've changed the examination paper, brought power in to add to finesse, and the general reaction of the players I've talked to is that the changes are wrong. They're trying to replicate what happened in the 1960s, trying to get the players to use the same clubs for their second shots as they did then, but you're not comparing apples with apples. Back then the greens were running at eight or nine on the stimpmetre, and now they're 12 or 13."

But that's it, end of discussion. When he first played in 2002, it felt like a bonus. The aura of the place, the history of triumph and failure at every turn. McGinley made the cut and then shot two under par on the weekend to wind up in a highly respectable tie for 18th.

Easy really.

That was before he became the man-who-sank-the-putt-towin-the-Ryder-Cup, before he truly arrived as an elite player at Oakland Hills, before he won the Volvo Masters, before he finished third in the European Tour's order of merit, and before he climbed into the top 20 of the world rankings.

Not that he hadn't pushed himself, not that he hadn't been fiercely ambitious, but in 2002 Paul McGinley and expectation rarely cropped up in the same sentence. He has changed. "I know by the quality of the shots I'm hitting, mentally I'm stronger and obviously I'm much further down the road in terms of experience. I feel I've proved myself on the world stage."

Compared to four years ago, he is in a different frame of mind, but does that mean he has already heaped extra pressure on himself? "Any time I've gone out trying my hardest to win a tournament from the start, trying to up my game, I've fallen flat on my face. I'm not one of those guys who can raise an extra gear just when I feel like it. So whatever happens, happens. I want to be ready on Thursday, and wherever that takes me it takes me."

His status as a global competitor has left him feeling a bit like a tennis player who has grown accustomed to grass suddenly switching to clay. Although his Ryder Cup place for the K Club in September appears secure, his world ranking has slipped from a high of 18 last year to 31. He arrived from China in advance of the Players Championship, fought off the combined effects of jet lag and a bad bout of hay fever before missing his first cut in nine months.

"I've actually played quite well, but my game is not quite as sharp as I'd like it to be. I've done a lot of travelling, and you can fall between two schools trying to play on the European Tour and in the US, but I set out my stall and I've got to try to extend myself. Last year I had a great season, but I didn't play well all the time, and it's only a matter of time before I play my way into some form."

This past week he has been practising in the West Palm Beach area of Florida before travelling to Augusta today. The superintendent at the course near where he was staying pushed the greens up to 12 on the stimpmetre to make his preparation as relevant as possible.

"I don't think I've ever played on greens as challenging as Augusta's before. People will tell you they run at 12, but when you take in some of the slopes, it's more like 18 or 19. Tiger putted off the 13th green and into the water last year and you don't have to be far wrong for that to happen."

McGinley tees it up a better player than four years ago. He now sees himself as a contender.

"Some people look forward to the first round of the championship, others look forward to the All Ireland final, " he says.

"This is a final."