Most folk wouldn't have Paul Lawrie down as a dedicated follower of golfing fashion.

While many of the game's prime movers and shakers stride about the fairways in the kind of technicolour garments not seen since Joseph emerged triumphantly from the locker room, Lawrie has tended to play it safe in the sartorial stakes.

So what goes nicely with a green jacket? "Proper tartan," said Lawrie, as he unveiled one item of his wardrobe for this week's catwalk at Augusta National. "I played with Ian Poulter in China and he said, 'I can't believe you don't wear tartan trousers, you're Scottish and you're the top player. People would love it'. I've always thought that Poulter looks really smart when he wears tartan. I've lost half a stone, I'm back to where I want to be weight-wise, so why not? I've even got white troosers. The son [Michael] doesn't like it. He thinks I look like an idiot in white troosers . . . he thinks I'm an idiot anyway."

Whether Lawrie will be dressed for success come Sunday night remains to be seen, but in the build-up to the skirmish for the game's most decorated blazer, the 1999 Open champion appears to be measuring up quite nicely.

Players have different ways of preparing for an assault on a major championship. Some like the cut-and-thrust of a tournament immediately beforehand, to fine tune their game, sharpen the competitive instincts and build the momentum. Others prefer to make a meticulous reconnaissance mission of the course where the championship is being played to get themselves accustomed to the myriad nooks and crannies. Lawrie has done neither.

Since competing at the WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral about a month ago, the Ryder Cup player has, by and large, left the clubs in the closet. Last week, he was almost mummified in various pieces of winter clothing during a particularly chilly Scottish Boys' Championship at Monifieth, in which his two teenage sons were both playing. Yesterday, in the warm, Augusta sunshine, the Scot had shed the layers and looked refreshed, relaxed and ready for action.

"I think the wee break is just what I needed," said the Aberdonian, ahead of his seventh Masters appearance. "You're never sure how having that time off will work out. I've never, ever had three weeks when I've hardly hit a shot or swung a club, but I don't feel rusty at all. Maybe there is a tendency to over prepare for a major. I don't know, but I'm certainly feeling sharp.

"I feel like I've not really had a break since the Ryder Cup. Poulter, [Graeme] McDowell, all those boys have eight or nine weeks off at the start of the year. I kept playing. Maybe this spell off has been enough. So let's get going, let's get back to business."

Over a course which demands so much, particularly on its bewildering, marble-like greens, Lawrie, predictably, has been focusing much of his energy on his short game and putting. "You can be aiming 15-20 feet away from the hole on some of these greens out here," noted the eight-time European Tour winner, who shared 15th place in the Masters 10 years ago and was sitting in the top 10 with one round to play last year only to slither back with a closing 76.

A little psychological tune-up has also aided his preparation. As well as the putting and the shaping of the ball, a fair dose of mental fortitude is required to cope with the rigours of Augusta National and Lawrie enjoyed a pep talk with Bob Rotella, the world-renowned sports psychologist who has probed the minds of countless golfers and is known in the industry as the counsellor to champions. Lawrie is not the kind of man who needs constant reassurance and a massaging of the ego, but there's nothing wrong with a bit of positive thinking.

"I only tend to see Bob when I come over to the US," he said. "Trying to get him on the phone is a nightmare. So five or six times a year is enough for me. I don't need somebody to hold my hand or speak to me every week, but I like his approach. It's not lie on the couch, deep stuff. He keeps it all pretty loose. We have a laugh and a joke, he tells a few stories and then off we go. Before you know it, 30 minutes has gone by."

All that's left for Lawrie to do now is ease himself into those troosers.