AUGUSTA, Ga. — Colin Montgomerie, bless his emotional and spontaneous combustive self, got things going last week and Stephen Ames, aloof and off-the-cuff as anyone, continued it from his home in Canada.

Each directed some sensitive shots at the first major championship of the year, questioning the overall strength of the field and just how it is put together.

“It would be easier to swallow if no one was invited and the entry list was based on sporting and not commercial criteria,” said Montgomerie, who took exceptions to invitations extended to players ranked lower than he is (75th). He insinuated that Masters officials are receiving television rights from those countries (China, Thailand, India). “It’s a strange way to make up a field for a major championship.”

To that, Ames — who is in the field — added his knocks.

“When you compare it to the other major events, it is the weakest field, technically,” said Ames to a Canadian paper. “There are only 90 players [at the Masters]; the top 50 players in the world are guaranteed. Of those 90, there are 20 old guys still playing, past champions, who shouldn’t be playing. So, technically it’s a field of 70.”

Ouch.

But before you consider this a stinging, one-two punch, breathe easy. Masters officials have heard these arguments before and aren’t in the least bit moved to either react or apologize. Nor should they.

What Montgomerie and Ames are forgetting is, it’s been this way from the start. The Masters has always been a small field and while nice players are surely missing (Chad Campbell comes to mind, and so do Bart Bryant, Graeme McDowell, Ryuji Imada, Bradley Dredge, and Carl Pettersson, but spare me Montgomerie’s name), I would argue that anyone who should be here, is here.

Given that it’s such a short field, one could argue that Ames is off base, because while it may be viewed as easier to win against fewer players than the 150 or so who show up for the U.S. Open, British Open or PGA Championship, my argument would be that it’s tougher to win the Masters because it takes a higher standard of consistent play just to get into the darn thing.

But all of that is traveling off on tangents. The focus should be on picking a winner. And in that respect, let’s work backward from the invitation list of 104 names.

NON-COMPETING: Ten past winners have phoned in their regrets, from Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus to Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros, so in fact, the field is just 94.

THE “OLD GUYS STILL PLAYING”: Ames is correct on this point, that a good many of the former champions who are going to tee it up don’t have a chance either. So let’s eliminate Ben Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize, Mark O’Meara, Gary Player, Craig Stadler, Tom Watson, Ian Woosnam, and Fuzzy Zoeller. We are now down to a field of 83 competitors.

AMATEURS: No such creature has won any of the previous 71 Masters, so why should we believe that’s going to change? Trip Kuehne, Michael Thompson and Drew Weaver are eliminated. The field is 80.
    
FIRST-TIMERS: On just three occasions has someone won the Masters on their first attempt and one of those times (in the 1934 debut with Horton Smith) deserves a huge asterisk. A first-timer had to win a first-time event. So with such a proven history, let’s eliminate Brian Bateman, Daniel Chopra, Nick Dougherty, Richard Green, Anders Hansen, Soren Hansen, J.B. Holmes, Martin Kaymer, Prayad Marksaeng, Andres Romero, John Senden, Heath Slocum, Richard Sterne, Johnson Wagner, Nick Watney, Bubba Watson, Boo Weekley, and Liang Wen-Chong. That’s another 18 fruitless picks and we’re down to 62.

DEFENDING CHAMPS: This is a tough one, because Zach Johnson is a solid player, but only Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods have successfully defended with a green jacket on the line and that’s a category of player into which the man from Iowa does not fit. With Johnson eliminated, our field is 61.

AUSTRALIANS: We’re not here to offer explanation, but just to state fact. No one from Down Under has ever won the green jacket, so say goodbye to Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Aaron Baddeley, Peter Lonard, Geoff Ogilvy, Nick O’Hern, and Adam Scott. It’s a stout list of seven, to be sure, but hey, we’re working with history here, so our field is sliced to 54.

ONE TOO MANY SINGHS: Vijay yes, Jeev Milkha no. Our field is at 53.

BAD FORM BY THE DOZEN: You either have your game in shape or you don’t. There’s no faking it at Augusta National. As a result, bid farewell to the chances of Michael Campbell, Ben Curtis, Steve Flesch, Todd Hamilton, Trevor Immelman, Jerry Kelly, Shaun Micheel, Arron Oberholser, Justin Rose, David Toms, Vaughn Taylor, and Brett Wetterich. Don’t look now, but our list of contenders is at 41.

MISSING AND PRESUMED CONFUSED: If anyone has seen Sergio Garcia in serious competitive spirit, please raise your hand. Ditto Angel Cabrera, Luke Donald, John Rollins, and Paul Casey. That’s five more to reduce our field to 36.

TOO MANY NATIONALITIES: Ames claims Canada, Trinidad, and Tobago as home. With so many countries, there’s so little chance. We’re at 35.
    
WATER DANGER: Seems like the last time we saw Woody Austin, he was nearly drowning, and with Rae’s Creek and that pond at No. 16 so very much in play, we consider it an upset if he finishes dry, let alone a winner. The serious field numbers 34.

AGE FACTOR: Jack Nicklaus, at 46, is the oldest Masters champion, but he is in a class by himself. Mark Calcavecchia (47), Fred Couples (48), Steve Lowery (47) are thus eliminated. Down to 31.

NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME: You usually need no fewer than three Masters appearances before you’re ready to be fitted for a green jacket, so despite impressive talents, we must take a pass on Jonathan Byrd, Robert Karlsson, Hunter Mahan, Sean O’Hair, Brandt Snedeker, D.J. Trahan, and Camilo Villegas. With seven more ousted, we’re at 24 serious contenders.
    
RISING SUN, SINKING CHANCE: He has made the cut in five of his six starts, but that extend to Shingo Katayama a golden chance. The same goes for his countryman, Toru Taniguchi. We’re at 22.
    
ONLY IF FASHION COUNTED: You know the old saying, you dress for show, you putt for dough. So long, Ian Poulter. Only 21 left.

SPEED LAWS IN EFFECT: And Niclas Fasth cannot in any way, shape, or form keep up. Only 20 remain.

NICE GUYS FINISH LAST IS FOR BASEBALL: In golf, nice guys often win, so that doesn’t bode well for Rory Sabbatini. The list is down to 19.

THE LOCAL ANGLE HAS BEEN ALREADY USED: What’s the chance of a second kid from the neighborhood winning? Slim, and Larry Mize has already turned the trick, so step back, Charles Howell III. We’re at 18.

SORRY, BUT ORANGE HAIR CLASHES WITH A GREEN BLAZER: Thus do we look elsewhere from Miguel Angel Jimenez as a winner. We’re at 17.
    
LONG, WET, AND SOFT IS NOT A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: At least not for Tim Clark, Justin Leonard, Steve Stricker, Scott Verplank, and Mike Weir.

After all of which leaves us with a list of 12 serious contenders: K.J. Choi, Stewart Cink, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Phil Mickelson, Jose Maria Olazabal, Vijay Singh, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, and Tiger Woods.

It’s just that I’d like a little more time to study that list before deciding on Woods.