AUSTRALIAN MASTERS FACTS:

My first affiliation with the Australian Masters was in 1980 when, as a 13-year-old schoolboy, I caddied for Terry Hulls, a former assistant professional at Rossdale GC, my home course where I grew up and was a junior member.

I walked inside the ropes in 1982 with Greg Norman, Tommy Nakajima, and Graham Marsh at Greg's request, after our meeting the previous week when I had qualified as a 15-year-old to compete in The Victorian Open next door at the Metropolitan GC.

In 1988, I competed in my first Masters Tournament and won the leading amateur honors.

Since that day, I have competed in 17 Masters tournaments, making the cut 14 times. I was also fortunate to win the Masters on two occasions, in 1993 and 1998. In 1996, I was runner-up to Craig Parry and also recorded fourth-place finishes in 1992 and 2004.

My proudest achievement at the Australian Masters, besides winning, is that throughout the history of the event, with almost all the game's superstars competing, I currently hold the 18-hole scoring record of 10 under par 63 (1998), the 36-hole scoring record of 130 (64-66) in 2004 and the 72 hole tournament record of 268 (24 under par) in my win in 1998.

FAST STARTS:

Playing in Major Championships is the ultimate stage for a professional golfer.

I have been fortunate to compete in TEN Major Championships.

The Masters 1998

The United States Open 1994–1995–1997–1999

The Open Championship 1994- 1996- 1999- 2006

The PGA Championship 1999

My fun fact from my major experience is — I birdied my very first hole in the US Open 1994 at Oakmont. I birdied my very first hole in the Open Championship 1994 at Turnberry and I birdied my very hole in The Masters at Augusta in 1998.

I missed out on the PGA Championship at Medinah in 1999, where I could only muster a par!! But three out of four ain't bad.

To make up for that disappointment, I did, however, also birdie my first hole in the 1994 Presidents Cup, playing alongside my partner Nick Price against Fred Couple and Davis Love III.

PLAYING WITH THE GREATS:

The official world golf ranking was established in 1984.

There have been 25 players who have reached the ultimate ranking of number one. Norman, Ballesteros, Lyle, Faldo, Couples, Lehman, Price, Els, Duval, Singh, Woods, Westwood, Kaymer, Donald, McIlroy, Spieth, Day, Scott, Johnson, Thomas, Rose, Koepka and Scheffler.

I have had the privilege of playing alongside 17 of these renowned golfers who have held that position. There is no better way to learn and judge yourself than from watching the greats up close and personal. This opportunity has been instrumental to my abilities as a player and as an instructor.

CHAMPIONS FROM OTHER SPORTS:

I had the unique opportunity to do several days of lessons with 14-time Grand Slam tennis champion Pete Sampras. We first met up in Melbourne, Australia for a day's work and also in California several months later for two days' work.

What a blast!! It was a remarkable experience for Pete to select me as the person he wanted to learn from in his attempt to improve his already excellent golf game. As a dedicated athlete, he fully understands the effort required to make changes. I look forward to watching his progress and hopefully catching up again to witness the transformation.