Well, it's that time of year again. Back again in Augusta - home away from home. It was great to be back and see the azaleas and trees blooming and to remember why Augusta is such a special place. I spent three weeks off beforehand relaxing and preparing for the Masters- the week prior I was in Charlotte, NC preparing at Quail Hollow and TPC Piper Glen. I felt like the game was in pretty good shape coming into the week; not perfect, but decent. I arrived in Augusta the Sunday before Masters to see my former college team, ASU, shoot 47 under par and win by 16 shots to lift their national college ranking to number two in the country, which equals the previous ranking when I was last on the team in 2003.

I began preparations on Monday by playing nine holes with past champion Mike Weir, which was great to obtain a little advice and see how he approaches the course. I'd heard a lot about the new range, several players stating it's the best they'd ever seen, and I'd have to agree. It's one that you can visualize and hit every shot. The short game area is similar in that you can hit every conceivable shot, and a great putting green. All in all a fantastic practice facility that fits in nicely with the golf course.

I played the par 3 again this year on Wednesday with my dad on the bag which was really nice to have him out there and be able to share some special memories with him. We had a great group including Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam, two legends of the game. It was really memorable for both my dad and myself. He wasn't allowed to hit a shot on the ninth but he was able to putt and managed to take his time and hit as many putts as he possibly could. We walked off the course with level par between us- not too bad and great fun.

On Thursday I was drawn with the two longest players in the game - Alvaro Quiros and Dustin Johnson, which I found quite amusing. They are both good guys and I enjoyed the pairing a lot. When I got out there I got off to a good start but unfortunately made double on the fourth and from then on it got worse. I struggled around the greens - I was a little rusty and when I missed a few greens I wasn't able to capitalize and get up and down. That really elevated my score and blew myself out of the tournament straight away. Not even a closing birdie could salvage a good score.

I played better on Friday, hitting a lot of greens, making a lot of pars. I had quite a few chances but was unable to convert them and ended up missing the cut, which was very disappointing. I felt like I should have done a lot better but I'm starting to learn the course more, which proves beneficial as it's the one course where experience can really make a difference. It's no excuse for missing the cut and back to back years is even more disappointing.

I feel like I'm getting better. My preparation wasn't quite right. Three weeks off before the Masters was a good thing long term but not ideal for the Masters. I'd forgotten some of the key thoughts and aspects of my game that I really needed to focus on. Unfortunately, it didn't work out but hopefully I'll be back again next year and I can rectify that by preparing a little better, which will hopefully show in my scores.

I'm heading to China early now for the Volvo China Open and then on to the Ballantine's Championship in Korea- two good weeks where I've performed well in the past. I'm looking forward to getting going and playing a few tournaments in a row as it's been a little stop-start this year for me. I'm hoping for a hot run...

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