By Mark Garrod, PA Sport Golf Correspondent, Augusta

Golf's last Major championship saw the lowest scoring ever, but nobody expects that to continue at the Masters this week.

Asked how long he thought the 18-under-par record of Tiger Woods might last on the toughened-up Augusta, Seve Ballesteros replied: "For 100 years."

It probably does indeed look that impossible from the Spaniard's eyes. He has not even made the halfway cut since 1996 and has slipped so far off the radar on the world rankings as to be almost undetectable.

One hundred years is unlikely to prove accurate, of course, but it would be a stunning feat even to get close to 270 over the next four days - or to threaten the Masters and Major championship record round of 63.

Even when David Toms and Phil Mickelson, at last August's US PGA championship in Atlanta, beat the 72-hole record held previously by Colin Montgomerie and Steve Elkington, nobody could achieve the magical 62.

Amazingly, 63 has stood as the mark to beat for 29 years now.

When Johnny Miller finished the 1973 US Open at Oakmont with a 63, coming from six shots behind to win by one, everybody knew they had witnessed something extraordinary.

Now we know exactly how extraordinary. Eighteen players have since matched him - Mark O'Meara was the latest in Atlanta - but the bar has still to be lowered.

The best chance came in 1986, a year best remembered for Jack Nicklaus' sixth Masters win.

In the third round Nick Price saw a putt for a 62 horseshoe out of the 18th hole and three months later, at Turnberry, Greg Norman had a putt for a 61, but three-putted.

Norman is the only player to have had two 63s, equalling Price's course record in the opening round in 1996 - before going on to lose to Nick Faldo.

The three Europeans on the list of 63 shooters are Paul Broadhurst in the 1990 Open at St Andrews, Faldo in the 1993 Open at Sandwich and Jose Maria Olazabal at the 2000 US PGA, where he could only par the closing par five hole.

On only four of the 20 occasions a 63 has been scored has the player gone on to win - Norman at the Open, Miller, Ray Floyd at the 1982 US PGA and Jack Nicklaus at the 1980 US Open.

Record of the 20 rounds of 63 in majors:

Johnny Miller (1973 US Open, Oakmont), Bruce Crampton (1975 US PGA, Firestone), Mark Hayes (1977 Open, Turnberry), Jack Nicklaus (1980 US Open, Baltusrol), Tom Weiskopf (1980 US Open, Baltusrol), Isao Aoki (1980 Open, Muirfield), Ray Floyd (1982 US PGA, Southern Hills), Gary Player (1984 US PGA, Shoal Creek), Nick Price (1986 Masters, Augusta), Greg Norman (1986 Open, Turnberry), Paul Broadhurst (1990 Open, St Andrews), Jodie Mudd (1991 Open, Birkdale), Nick Faldo (1993 Open, Sandwich), Payne Stewart (1993 Open, Sandwich), Vijay Singh (1993 US PGA, Inverness), Michael Bradley (1995 US PGA, Riviera), Brad Faxon (1995 US PGA, Riviera), Greg Norman (1996 Masters, Augusta), Jose Maria Olazabal (2000 US PGA, Valhalla), Mark O'Meara (2001 US PGA, Atlanta)