Will rookies Master it?

A record eight South Africans will tee it up at the 77th Masters starting at Augusta tomorrow, but for debutants George Coetzee and Branden Grace, history is stacked against them.

As a rule, rookies at the season's first Major, the only one to be played at the same venue every year, do not win the coveted green jacket.

Only three first-timers in the history of the tournament have won it - Horton Smith in 1934 (it was the first Masters tournament so all the players were rookies), Gene Sarazen in 1935 and Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

Zoeller's win stands out because he won against a field of experienced Masters winners and participants. Even current world No1 and four-time Masters winner Tiger Woods won his first green jacket in his third attempt.

Jack Nicklaus, who has six green jackets, won his first at his fifth attempt, while three-time winners Gary Player and Phil Mickelson needed five and 12 appearances respectively before winning for the first time.

But for Coetzee and Grace, the 2013 tournament should be a steep learning curve in their respective careers without the pressure of expectation to do well.

They'll place pressure on themselves, but should one or both be in contention on Sunday, they'll have underdog status working in their favour.

Grace has not been in the best touch this season, but in golf that doesn't necessarily mean he can't suddenly find form.

Last week, Scotsman Martin Laird won the Texas Open after a season in which he'd missed five cuts and hadn't ranked in the top 30 at any tournament.

Coetzee has yet to win a tournament on the European Tour, where he regularly campaigns, but has picked up four top 10 finishes, including second at the Qatar Masters earlier this year, although his recent form has been mediocre.

At Augusta yesterday, both played a practice round with Player and no doubt they would have picked his brain for insights to the course, and Player would have happily obliged.

Knowing where to miss, where to land drives and which side of the greens to putt from is vital knowledge gained by experience of the layout.

Player's input will fast-track that knowledge for both rookies, although, come tomorrow it will be up to them to learn quickly.