Luke Donald's US Masters Diary

Luke was a late arrival at Augusta

I've been spending a lot of time on the practice putting green at Augusta National this week, lining up putts from under 15 feet - which I haven't been paying full attention to recently.

I've always had a tendency to aim right and pull my putts just a little. You can't afford to do that at the US Masters and I've found that aiming properly makes my stroke better. It goes down the line better.

I've arrived here refreshed. Originally I was planning to come to Augusta a week early but when I learned that there were only a couple of changes to the course (pine straw on the right of 11 and a new tee at 15), I decided to leave my arrival until Sunday and fore-go a practice round.

Obviously you need to be mentally well prepared for the Masters and I talked to my coach Jim Fannin on Sunday night and we went over the game plan that I feel I need if I'm going to claim my first major title.

We agreed it's very important for me to have fun this week - take a light approach. Often you try so hard to be the best prepared that you can be, that you forget to have some fun. It's no good stressing about all the little things.

I'm convinced it's why I was so successful in 2005, my first trip to Augusta, when I finished third behind Tiger. I was so excited to be there, that I had great energy it drove me to play well. But perhaps more important, with few expectations as a first-timer, I had a great time.

Checking out the Augusta bunkers

The players enjoy it, too. But after my nine holes, I stopped off with my caddie, my brother Christian, to work mainly on the practice putting green and the chipping area behind the clubhouse.

With the greens at Augusta being so fast and undulating, it's important to get the feel of the speed of the greens so I did a lot of lag putting, to try and get the pace down.

That's where the Bettinardi C-03 that I'm currently using (and that I've used since the Ryder Cup) comes into its own. The reaction off the milled face is so consistent and that's crucial when controlling your distance. I also worked on some chipping, trying to get a feel of how the ball reacts on the greens and their inevitable firmness.

I'm working with my wedges on playing shots from those tight lies that you get just off the edge of the greens.

I’m often asked if I’d like to be playing with Tiger, who is, of course, going to start favourite this week. To me it really doesn't matter who I play with at Augusta, the crowds seem the same for most groups out there.

As it happens I'm teeing off in one of the later groups with my Ryder Cup colleague Padraig Harrington and Jerry Kelly. They're both guys who keep a smile on their face, like me so it should be fun.

In fact we're in the group just ahead of Tiger (who's with Casey and Aaron Baddeley) so I'll be able to keep him in my sights.

But seriously, I'm going to worry about my own game, and not even pay any attention to other scores. I'm going to worry about getting my golf ball in the hole in as few shots as possible, and not worry about what the other players are doing. I can't control them.

There is a large and gifted European entry and it wouldn't surprise me if one of our guys made a run this week. It seems every year the Europeans get stronger and stronger. I've got to believe that come Sunday, I'm going to be one of them with a chance to win.