Spring is in the air but when you get to Tom Watson’s vintage there’s no avoiding those autumn years. At a sprightly 66, the Kansas veteran is well aware that time waits for no man … not even a multiple major champion. It’s time to call it a day.

At Augusta next week, Watson, that wily, craggy, formidable campaigner whose competitive instincts remain as sharp as the security gates at a drawing pin factory, will make his final Masters appearance. Last July, he was waving goodbye to the Open Championship on the Swilcan Bridge at St Andrews. This year he’ll be making the sentimental waddles over those Augusta brigs named after Sarazen, Hogan and Nelson. When the end finally comes – whether it’s after Friday’s cut or, by some epic effort, Sunday’s closing round – there will probably be the kind of outpouring of emotional nostalgia that could burst the banks of Rae’s Creek.

“It’s a little bit like death,” reflected the two-time Masters champion. "The finality of the end is here.”

Watson has played 132 tournament rounds on this hallowed stretch of golfing terrain and when he clatters away from the first tee next Thursday with that timeless swing, it will mark the start of his 43rd and final Masters appearance. Even those Augusta azaleas will bow their trumpet blooms as a mark of respect as he ambles by.

The end may be nigh but the drive up Magnolia Lane, the meander through the clubhouse and the sound of a gentle breeze drifting through the dogwoods continue to stir the senses.

“The Masters is a special time,” reflected Watson. “It’s always an exciting time of the year, because you start to think about the shots you have to play. That’s what makes it sad. I’ll miss that preparation and I’m going to miss playing in the Masters. You get excited about the prep, when you try to work your game into a stage where you can play the course. It’s always been like that, a month in advance. I’ll not have that next year.”

When Watson won his second Masters title back in 1981, Augusta was playing about 7,000 yards. These days, with super-charged balls being propelled through the air with huge headed drivers that are visible from Saturn, the course has been stretched to over 7,500 yards.

“The reason I’m retiring is very simple; the course has gotten too long for me,” said Watson, who opened with a battling 71 in last year’s tournament only to miss the cut with a second round 81. “Take the seventh for example. The kids are hitting 8-irons, 9-irons and pitching wedges in. I’m back there trying to hit a 5-iron. The green is really shallow and you can’t stop a 5-iron there. I’m always making bogey there. I can hit my best drive at the 11th and I’m still hitting a 3-wood in. The writing is on the wall. I can’t compete at all on the course. Last year I shot a 71 through smoke and mirrors. I holed one from the bunker, I got a lot of breaks. I got back and shot 81 in round two. My average score over the last 10 years is 75. That’s no fun.”

It’s almost 40 years since Watson snuggled into the Green Jacket for the first time during a glory-laden 1977 campaign that would be illuminated further by that shimmering ‘Duel in the Sun’ victory over Jack Nicklaus in the Open at Turnberry.

The sun may be setting on Watson’s major championship career but the memories continue to burn brightly.

"That (season) was when I felt I could beat the best,” said Watson, who finished runner-up three times in the Masters and was in the top-10 during 13 of the 15 years between 1977 and 1991. “That was the turning point in my career where I felt I could beat everybody. Up until then I felt I was learning how to win but that was the springboard to the meat of my career. After that first Masters win (in 1977) I called Stan Thirsk, my long term mentor and teacher. I said ‘Stan, we did it’. He said ‘no, you did it’. I said ‘no, we did it’. I then made a call to Byron Nelson. It was a special time to share the moment with two very important people in my life.”

In many ways, golf is a different ball game to when Watson was in his pomp. His career earnings at the Masters total $942,850. Jordan Spieth took home a cheque for $1.8 million for winning a year ago.

The times may have changed but that Masters magic stays the same. “It makes life good,” said Watson.