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Tim Clary is a and is covering his 18th Masters.

"There's other guys that make good pictures but, overall, if you had to follow one person, there's no-one better. He's the best golfer, ," he said.

"We've never covered a golfer before where we've put a guy on him every day starting from the practice round to the end, no matter where he is on the leaderboard."

At Augusta AFP have three photographers, one shooting every player that walks past, one roving and Tim on Tiger.

"There's three things you want to get. First, whatever is the telling picture of the day from the guy you are with.. If he's having a bad day you need him .

"Second thing you need is as clear a picture as you can - nothing in the background, just . And it's such . Nowhere else do you just get the player and his caddie without anyone else.

". The first two days are more difficult because you get so many people out there and so many can end up as the leader on the last hole."

The difference between Augusta and anywhere else, though, is that the photographers are not allowed inside the ropes.

", so on a lot of holes you won't see the golfer, much less make a decent picture of him. It's tough. You're trying to get into a spot to make a good picture but the chances are fans are going to stand up and wipe you out.

"On every hole there's like a little spot you can crawl into to shoot from, but it then ."

The 18th green is the hallowed turf for the snappers and Tim says his best shots from Augusta were taken from there when .

"It's always at 18 that he is best. But ," said Tim.

To get the money shot on 18, Tim and the other snappers have to be up early to bag a spot.

"Sunday is the famous chair shuffle," he said.

"All the photographers come out at 6am and sit out under the oak tree. At 8am or 0802 or whenever they let you, there's this mass procession of people with chairs and they put them down in a specific spot on 18.

"Members, members' friends, press, public. Without the chair you're in trouble."

Another of Tim's abiding memories of photographing the scene on 18 was of .

"We pick these spots on 18 that we think will produce the best moments and we picked wrong that day," said Tim. "We all forgot Phil was a lefty and we all had his backside going in the air.

"He did a book later and the front cover is him 10ft off the ground and the back cover is the same picture, only from the back. I'm thinking, 'Man, I wish I had the front cover'. You go to a spot, you make a decision and you live and die by it."

With Augusta being such an iconic course, I was interested in what Tim thought was the defining image.

"What's considered a pretty hole is not necessarily a good shot," said Tim, who revealed that the photographers don't like players to wear white hats (their faces don't show up) or black shirts (don't stand out).

"If I had to pick one hole that says Augusta .

"It's not but that doesn't do much for me because you're too far away. Walking across the bridge is kind of interesting but I've never made a picture down there. You need to feel close to the players. It's a postcard, but you can't see the golfers. Other holes are consistently good. On 16 you're right there, but 18 is the best because a lot of stuff happens and not just on Sunday."

Getting back to Tiger, I wondered if Tim had ever got into trouble.

"There's been mistakes, but only two times of all the times I've covered him," he said. "He'll set up over the ball and you think he's getting ready to hit it, but he stops himself and you don't stop yourself and you click.

"You would think a camera click is not that bad, but it's so quiet out there, it's like a bomb going off. Everything stops and every head turns to you.

"Last year I accidentally clicked, but Tiger knows me, his caddie knows me. Tiger doesn't say that much, he lets his caddie do his dirty work for him. What does he say? It depends what mood he's in.

"Sometimes photographers are walked off the course and have their credential yanked. But accidents happen, and when they do you feel worse than anybody. And it's worse if you cost him a shot. On Sunday each shot costs them something like $3,000.

"When I've been yelled at by Tiger I go and hide for a couple of holes. I stay in the trees for a hole or so, so they forget. Of course, they forget quicker if they're playing good."

Tim has shot all the greats but still feels very privileged to be around them.

"Anytime I've covered I feel like I shouldn't even be on the same course with him," he said.

"That's why I've never put my name in the hat to play the course (the media have a ballot to play on Monday). I feel like it would be a travesty to come out here and hack up this course the morning after some guy has just won a Green Jacket on it."

Augusta, practice ground, Saturday, about 1200 ET - Thinking ahead, I've queued up to get a seat in the stand behind the practice range (no special media access here).

Tiger Woods is due to tee off in at 1305 and I've taken a flyer that he'll set up camp on the far left of the range about 45 minutes before.

If I'm wrong and he goes to the extreme right, I won't be able to see and I'll have wasted almost an hour, though the suntan will have come on a bit.

While I'm waiting I watch hitting drivers one-handed, first left, then right, almost reaching the vast net at the end, which is 265 yards away and 105ft high to stop balls flying onto .

At 1210, Woods marches in from the right and heads straight to my side of the range, with coach Hank Haney and caddie Steve Williams shuffling along behind.

Woods gets straight down to it and knocks a few 30-yard sand wedges before easing them out to about 50 yards.

He then switches to a pitching wedge and swaps targets, landing seven of them in about a six-foot diameter. The crowd are silent, absorbed in watching the master at work.

Hank stands behind him, hands in pockets, shades on. Once or twice he moves to watch from the side.

A longer club now and another new target, each ball clipped crisply off the turf, each with just a hint of a fade.

walks past and playfully shoves Hank in the back, Tiger looks up and says hi.

Next he tries a few out-and-out fades with real bend on them, before hitting a couple of draws. Maybe just to show he can.

Then it's wood time. He begins with a five wood off the deck, then off the tee but doesn't ground the clubhead at address. To reload, pros tend to get their caddies to throw them the ball and Tiger's the same. But they have to bend down to tee it up anyway, so couldn't they grab a ball while they're there?

He moves onto his three-wood - a crack as he squeezes the ball off, a fizz as it accelerates into the royal blue sky and a soaring arc at the end of the flight. After 28 minutes Hank moves in and puts his hands on Tiger shoulders to square him up.

Driver next, and he launches a couple about a third of the way up the net. Then he lets go and begins sticking them halfway up.

He goes back to the bag and I think that's it. But no. Back to some short irons, then the sand wedge before a couple of final drives.

At 1246 he turns and marches off. I scurry after him and am swept up in a wave of people with the same idea.

He heads for the practice chipping area and begins with some shots to a close flag, before a chip-and-run or two further away. I'm watching intently. .

Then it's some cute stuff, deliberately catching the fringe so the ball just trickles onto the green.

A few lob wedges and three bunker shots and Stevie picks up the bag to head off. But Tiger calls him back and fires a full wedge across the range, over the head of .

Then he does leave and diverts through the clubhouse, while we all have to take the long route around some cottages.

But old twinkle toes here catches up with him around the other side, like a game of Tiger .

He pops out right next to me and a guy says "Go get 'em Tiger". I expect no reaction whatsoever, but Tiger looks at him and says thanks.

He is guided down a funnel of people onto the practice putting green and gets to work. Playing partner and caddie Ken Comboy try their best to look casual.

Woods begin , completely in a bubble. Stevie and Hank leave him to it and stand at the edge, chatting.

Every now and again Woods clenches his left fist and rotates his wrist around.

"Has he got a problem? I've seen him do that all week," says a woman. Me too, come to think of it.

Now he's six yards away and I watch . Blade back, then forward, head still, blink, then look up. Lips pursed the whole time.

He finishes with a bizarre leg routine, picking up each leg in turn behind him in a virtual break dance off the green. Stretching I suppose.

Reaching the tee at 1302 he shakes hands with McDowell. The Northern Irishman cracks away first then Woods is up.

I'm braced for a roar as he drives but there's a split-second delay, then a low "oooh". After all that, he's carved it into the trees on the left.