THE MASTERS
Venue: Augusta Dates: 10-13 April Coverage: Watch on BBC ONE, BBC TWO, BBCi and BBC Sport website (UK only); Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live; highlights on BBC iPlayer for seven days

Connelly (left) will be working at his third Masters with Casey

England's Paul Casey goes to the Masters with a record of two top 10s and a missed cut in three attempts.

Casey's caddie Craig Connelly returns with him for another crack at the Augusta major and the 'Wee Man', as he is affectionately known, has high hopes.

Here, Connelly talks BBC Sport through the Masters from a caddie's point of view.

The first time you go to Augusta you are in awe of the place. It is so spectacular and, with all the history, it certainly lives up to its reputation as the holy grail.

When you first walk through the gates and up Magnolia Drive - not that we do that, we have to use the caddies' entrance - you sense the special air about the place.

But the hardest thing to appreciate is how difficult it is. It is so much more undulating than you think and the trees are so tall that the wind swirls like you can't believe.

Casey played the first three rounds with Tiger Woods in 2007

Then factor in trying to land something in a space four foot by five foot and getting it to stick on those sloping greens that get faster and faster as the week goes on. It's a hell of a place.

But the best bit for me is that I'm fortunate to be going with a person I believe can win the Masters one day. I'm not saying he definitely will but Paul loves the golf course and it definitely suits him.

He says out of all the majors it is the one he is most likely to win.

Paul finished sixth in his first Masters in 2004 but missed the cut when I first went in 2005, a really bad year for him.

Last year he tied for 10th after opening with a 79 and Tiger Woods said his second-round 68 to get back into contention was one of the best rounds he had ever seen.

It is said that it is a golf course for long hitters but Zach Johnson proved that wrong. The key is to be able to hit long irons high and land them soft.

In the build-up, Sunday is spent walking the course with a few of the other caddies. We will check on distances and gradients with the laser.

Augusta rarely changes and if it has, it is well documented so it is just about familiarising yourself with it again. The pin locations are pretty much set in stone year after year so we will practise chipping and putting to those areas.

Monday is a full 18 holes followed by maybe nine holes on Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as the par-three contest when I get to hand over the bag to Paul's fianc�e Jocelyn.

I'm renting a house for the week with Alistair Matheson, who caddies for Geoff Ogilvy, and Christian Donald, Luke's brother and caddie.

The Masters is the start of the serious part of the season and the stress levels of some of the players are phenomenal Craig Connelly

We're just off Washington Road, about a 10-minute walk from the course. The price of hotels during Masters week is phenomenal. A standard motel room which is usually $45-50 a night jumps up to $300-400.

We always eat in because there are so few restaurants and you can't get a reservation from 5pm to closing time any day of the week.

At a regular tournament I might see Paul for dinner once or twice a week but probably not at the Masters. It is such a stressful week and all the players tend to stay in their rented houses.

Outside those hallowed gates, Augusta is a typical American town with a couple of malls and lots of fast food joints and steak houses.

I've stayed there when I caddied on the LPGA Tour, and away from Masters week let's just say there's not much going for the place.

Having said that, at the course us caddies are very well looked after.

On the European Tour our credentials get us into the clubhouse but at a normal PGA Tour event we are pretty much left to our own devices.

But at Augusta we take over the regular caddies' base and there's food, a burger bar, showers, toilets, lockers and a TV room.

"You almost spend more time with the person you work for as a caddie than you do with own wife "

We're still not allowed in the clubhouse, though. In fact Sandy Lyle's wife caddied for him a few years ago and was barred from following him into the clubhouse. Not because she was a woman, but because she was a caddie.

Obviously, as caddies at Augusta we also have to wear those white overalls. I'd prefer to wear my own shorts and T-shirt but I suppose they are all part of the history. They are pretty thick, which was good last year because the weather was really cold. And it saves on washing. I'm just travelling with carry-on luggage.

The Masters really does herald the beginning of the serious part of the season and the stress levels of some of the players are phenomenal.

You certainly notice it but I suppose they are only human and the majors are why these guys play golf.

Our job this week is to keep track of the wind and make sure our players are relaxed and confident because Augusta can bite you, big time. You can be cruising at level par or one under and, bang, you can make a double from nowhere.

Paul and I have experienced a lot together in three and half years [punctuated by a stint working for Colin Montgomerie] and although things do get heated at times I think we get on really well.

606: DEBATE Who are you backing for Masters glory?

You almost spend more time with the person you work for as a caddie than you do with own wife and when it is raining and that umbrella is up you are pretty close! You get to know each other very well and I know instinctively when to step in and tell him to buck up and when to keep quiet.

This year Paul has been working very hard with his coach Peter Kostis and with himself to learn how to relax and how to perform at the big events.

His game is almost at the point where he wants it to be so it is a case of having a bit of luck during the week.

Shame there's no green boilersuit for the winning caddie.

Craig Connelly was talking to BBC Sport's Rob Hodgetts