Wanted: Putting, Patience : Golf: As usual, greens are slick at Augusta, where Price is going after third major in a row.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Masters begins today at Augusta National, that once-a-year, four-day roller-coaster ride through golf’s magic kingdom, where agony and anxiety are par for the course.

The Masters is the year’s first major tournament, and, to the 86 players trying to get balls to stop rolling on greens as hard as the asphalt on Magnolia Lane in front of the clubhouse, it also is often a major pain.

“The most important club in the bag is patience,” Peter Jacobsen said.

“There will be some great shots that turn out horrible and there will be some horrible shots that turn out even worse. But it’s an exciting course.”

Hey, what else do you want?

The Masters Committee has done its usual job of getting Augusta National ready, mainly by watering the greens with an eye-dropper. It seems that way, anyway.

Nick Price is coming in with victories in the last two majors and could make it three in a row here, but he has his hands full trying to figure out the greens.

“If we don’t get any rain and they don’t put any water on them, they will be very, very fast and very, very firm by the weekend, even by Thursday,” he said.

Rain is forecast for today, which ought to soften the greens. Masters Chairman J.T. Stephens said the greens are watered as necessary to keep the grass in condition.

Some interpret that to mean the only reason the greens are watered is to keep them from dying.

“I don’t know if you ever get to feel real comfortable on these greens,” said Price, who counts it a victory not to be frightened by them anymore.

“That’s a good start,” he said.

Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain is back as the defending champion, but he has a sore toe and is limping slightly.

He represents the latest in a stretch of six foreign champions in the last seven Masters. Since 1987, when Larry Mize beat Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros in a playoff, the only U.S. player to win was Fred Couples in 1992.

Nick Faldo, who won back-to-back titles in 1989-’90, took last week off to rest and probably count the money he has made lately. He won at Doral, finished second at the Honda Classic and tied for fifth at the Nestle Invitational.

On the other hand, Price hasn’t played all that well, prompting Faldo to speculate that Price is saving his good shots for this week.

“I hope he’s right,” Price said.

Foreign players who are expected to be contenders are South Africa’s Ernie Els, Wales’ Ian Woosnam, Germany’s Bernhard Langer, Spain’s Ballesteros, Australia’s Norman, Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie and Zimbabwe’s Price.

As far as U.S. players go, well, it hasn’t been very far lately. Davis Love III and Corey Pavin have not won majors, but they are playing well and could challenge this week.

Lee Janzen, who won the Players Championship in an international field two weeks ago, said the most important thing he needs to do is play that patience club.

“You know, you can three-putt from 10 feet here very easily,” he said. “You don’t want to walk off the green thinking about what you just did. It’s going to happen. Things are going to happen.”

Sure enough, things happen. Whoever wins Sunday has earned his choice of jackets: green or straight.

Few appreciate this curious hold of the Masters more than Norman, who has finished second three times--1986, ’87 and ’89.

Norman said the Masters is his favorite event and Augusta National is his favorite course.

“It is pure golf,” Norman said. “When you walk out there on that first tee, if there are no people around, it is the most beautiful expanse of grass you will see in the world.

“You have a difficult golf course, a difficult test of golf, and you have 72 tough holes to go ahead of you.

“We play here every year. We can compare our shots with the Nelsons and the Sneads and the Sarazens and the young Palmers and the young Nicklauses. So I enjoy putting my footsteps in where a lot of great players have put them in the past.”