Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport at Augusta National

An owl swoops low over the 13th tee, and the smell of the azaleas fills the nostrils.

Ken Brown, to the sound of a woodpecker, explains how you need to bend the ball around the dog-leg to the left.

He pulls a banana out of his pocket for illustration and says left-handers do well here because right-to-left for them is a fade which floats around the corner and lands softly.

Tune in to BBC Two from 19:30 BST to see more Ken on the Course.

Hunter Mahan is getting toasty. The American, who leads the average driving distance stats, has picked up birdies on the opening two holes to creep back to level par.

We are still awaiting Rickie Fowler's grand reveal of his third-round outfit. News of his numbers on the opening holes are coming back to us though and the American dandy is back to one over after a bogey on four.

I'll have some of whatever Gary Woodland has for breakfast. He is making mincemeat of the Augusta front nine, birdieing the eighth to move to two under overall and five under for the day.

That is scorching scoring.

Image source, Getty Images

Jamie Heinrich:, external Mcllroy needs to have a word with Jeff Knox about this Augusta course and get his game back on track for the last few holes!

David Crummey:, external ‏Rory McIlroy gaining some fans out there getting round the front 9 in 1h 30mins. Serious respect.

Paolo Brand:, external ‏Come on Ian Poulter, time for a Ryder Cup style charge...you can still win this!

Justin Rose has started his circuit. Par on the first for the Englishman who has Bernard Langer playing with him. I imagine the German, a winner in 1985 and 1993, would be excellent company. As well as plenty of golfing know-how, I imagine he would have some sound advice on just about any other subject you cared to bring up.

Holiday destinations, the relative merits of tarmac and block-paved drives, the best way to cook an egg. You name it, he would have a wise word.

Quick stats for you: 11 of the 24 debutants have made it to the weekend.

I would say that that is a slightly higher survival rate than I would have predicted given all the chin-stroking pre-event chat about the value of experience around the lumps and bumps of Augusta.

The 'Battle of bright trousers' as it has just been dubbed on the live text desk is hotting up. Ian Poulter and Rickie Fowler are matching each other blow for blow so far with birdies on two and three taking both to two under for the day and level par for the tournament.

Image source, Getty Images

Afternoon all.

I wonder how different your surroundings are from those being beamed in from Georgia? Right now, in contrast with the brilliant sunshine and emerald greens of Augusta, there is teeming rain and grey concrete out of my window. Maybe that is part of the attraction of the Masters. It sometimes feels like another planet out there..

Right then, my front nine is complete and Mike Henson is here for the next couple of hours. I'm off to find odds on Jeff Knox, he would have been better value than the fiver I had on Sergio Garcia.

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport at Augusta National

The merest hint of a breeze is in the air. Ken Brown is itching to try his new toy. We go back to the 12th tee.

"Will it work? Come on wind." He tells the camera that it's the swirling breeze that makes the short 12th the second hardest hole.

"Look, the flag on 11 is blowing in a different direction to 12." With a proud flourish, Ken gets out a 20ft long telescopic pole. He's attached a yellow flag to the top. He hoists it aloft and holds it triumphantly as the pennant darts this way and that to illustrate his point.

Jeff Knox, the non-competing member tasked with making up the numbers on the Masters weekend, is no slouch round Augusta.

He actually holds the course record, posting a score of 61 in 2002, although that was off the members' tees rather than the pros'.

Knox made his Masters debut in 2003 when he accompanied Craig Stadler round the course, beating his score on both Saturday and Sunday.

While Jeff Knox makes McIlroy look like an amateur, both Ian Poulter and Rickie Fowler have birdied the second to get down to one over. First-round leader Bill Haas has picked up shots at both the second and third to get to level par.

This is brilliant. Rory McIlroy, the world number nine and two-time major winner, is hunting in the trees on the 13th as Augusta member Jeff Knox, who is playing as a marker for the Northern Irishman, waits patiently on the fairway. Rory eventually has to take a drop.

I'm also hearing that they played the first nine in an hour and a half.

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport at Augusta National

On the 13th green a man is mowing. Ken Brown bounces a ball off Rory McIlroy's sprinkler head. "Inches can make all the difference, poor Rory."

Ken puts down four balls and gives them each the tiniest of taps. He chases after them as they gather pace. One hits Ken's cup and a clap comes from the gallery across the creek.

"It's like greased lightning. If you leave it above the hole, by jingo, it's difficult," he grins into the lens.

English amateur Matthew Fitzpatrick: "It's been a great week and to play with those two guys (Adam Scott and Jason Dufner) is pretty special."

On missing the cut by a shot: "I didn't have a clue where I stood. I wouldn't have done anything different if I had known. It's just one of them things. I just hit a little too hard on the wrong line."

On practising on the range next to eight-times major champion Tom Watson: "Playing with Tom last year at the Open was special. And here, the whole week's been surreal, the fact I now know the best players in the world and they'll happily speak to me is pretty cool really."

Jeff Knox has just birdied the 12th! Tee shot to within 20 feet, draining the putt as cool as you like. Take notes, Rory.

Going the other way, what if you have a shocker? You're scrambling about in the trees and keeping Rory McIlroy waiting?

Actually, it's Rory who is in the trees, going left off the tee on 13.

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport at Augusta National

On the 12th green, Ken Brown paces out the hole location and marks it with a polystyrene cup.

One-take Brown delivers his lines to perfection, explaining how small the landing area is, and that anything right will catch sand, anything pulled left could trickle into the drink.

"Oooh, it's a tigerish little pin. If you take it on, you've got to be just right."

Image source, Getty Images

So Rory McIlroy becomes the first man to play Amen Corner today and you can watch his progress on selected connected TVS and here at the top of this page. Click the Live Coverage tab and scroll along to find the stream you require.

McIlroy, by the way, is not playing alone. He has a marker for company, in the shape of Augusta member Jeff Knox. Imagine getting that phone call. "We need someone to play with Rory McIlroy, are you available?" What if you had to turn it down?

Gary Woodland continues to tear up the front nine. The world number 48 has picked up four strokes so far, the latest of his sensational scoring coming at the par-three sixth. A birdie takes him to one under and into the red numbers. He's only six off the lead.