The Masters 2012: Gary Player outdrives Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus as Augusta action begins

GARY Player joined Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as honorary starters for The Masters today - and showed them what he is still capable of by outdriving both veterans.

The 76-year-old South African followed 82-year-old Palmer onto the tee for a ceremonial opening drive and found the middle of the fairway some 250 yards away.

It was around 50 yards further than Palmer and 72-year-old Nicklaus then split the difference between them.

With that the trio who used to be known as golf’s “Big Three” - they have 13 Masters titles between them - retired to the clubhouse and allowed the tournament proper to begin.

Conditions were perfect for the early starters. Torrential rain on Tuesday night had softened up Augusta National and it was a bright, still morning as the 76th Masters began.

Despite the receptive greens and calm conditions there was still nothing easy about the 445-yard opening hole - as American Robert Garrigus showed.

After driving into the left-hand trees and coming up short of the green he duffed his chip and four-putted from 35 feet for a triple bogey seven.

Scot Paul Lawrie, back in the event after an eight-year absence, was relieved to walk off with a par. His first putt from 40 feet curled seven feet left of the hole, but he made it.

First player to make a birdie was South African Tim Clark at the long second, while European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal set off with two pars.

Padraig Harrington was among the other early European starters and he leapt to the top of the leaderboard with an eagle on the long second.

It was the hole which cost him a quadruple-bogey nine three years ago when he was going for a third successive major victory, but he is now down to 96th in the world.

The 40-year-old Dubliner also has to break a hoodoo to triumph this week.

For the third time in 10 years he won the eve-of-tournament par three competition - jointly with American Jonathan Byrd after it was abandoned because of a thunderstorm - and nobody has gone on from that to Masters victory four days later.

Harrington was relieved to save par on the first after pulling his second left, but after chipping to four feet and making it he struck a massive drive down the next and his second shot just carried the front bunker before running about eight feet past the hole.

At two under he led by one from playing partner Stewart Cink and also 60-year-old Ben Crenshaw. The 1984 and 1995 champion birdied the short fourth.

Lawrie parred the first six holes, while England’s Ross Fisher went to one over when he went just over the green at the 240-yard fourth and failed to get up and down.