US Masters: Vijay Singh has this image of being the original "range rat", a player who forgets he has a home to go too and, instead, spends all of his time on the practice range. True? Well, until recently, this was pretty much the case.

However, perhaps worryingly for those hoping to dislodge the Fijian from the world's number one spot, and those who view him as a prime contender for the US Masters, he is so happy with his swing that he has considerably reduced the amount of time spent there.

So, rather than finding a place at dawn and stubbornly defending his space until dusk, Singh adopted an abnormal routine last week in preparing for this season's first major.

On the Tuesday and Wednesday, he didn't hit a single golf ball. On the Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, he only hit the range for two hours each day. For Singh, that's akin to a starvation diet.

"I don't spend hours on the range any more," said Singh. "I've a very good understanding of my golf swing right now, so I know where I'm going and what direction to take."

For the past seven months, apart from a two-week stretch last month when Tiger Woods briefly regained the distinction, Singh has been the world's number one golfer. This week, Woods or Ernie Els could overtake him if either won the Masters. Singh, though, doesn't want to let that happen.

He has learned some lessons from the early part of the season when he was as conscious of trying to stay number one as he was on concentrating on actually winning tournaments.

"This year, my focus was different. You know, you go out to play a tournament and you start thinking, 'hey, if I play badly I'm going to lose my number one spot', so that kind of takes away the focus of what my principle was - to go out there and win tournaments.

"I changed all that and I said, 'I need to go out there and play golf to win', and people recognise you're number one by winning golf tournaments. I think it's good to be number one, but you've also got to know what your directions are. Coming in here, my directions are not to keep the number one spot, but to win a major, to win the Masters. That's what is important to me.

"I love being number one, there's no hiding that. It's the biggest achievement of anyone's career to be the number one player in the world. I'm going to try to win golf tournaments and also try to stay there . . . (but) if I win tournaments, that's just going to help me stay in that top spot."

Singh's career path has been an extraordinary one, where he gained almost mythical status in Asia for hitting endless golf balls into the jungle to fine-hone a swing that first took him to the European Tour and, then, to the US Tour.

Since winning the 1993 Buick Classic in 1993 - the first of 25 victories on the PGA Tour - the United States has been his primary tour, although he has retained membership of the European Tour where he has "life-time honorary" status.

To date this season, Singh has only managed one victory. It could be so much more. The win came in the Sony Open in January but he has finished runner-up in two of his last three tournaments - to Padraig Harrington in the Honda Classic, where he missed a short putt in a play-off, and to Kenny Perry in the Bay Hill Invitational, when he put his approach to the 72nd hole into the water - and is confidence about his prospects at Augusta National where he won in 2000.

"I'm content with my game," he said. "The golf course is in great shape, the greens are as fast as I have ever putted on them. The golf course is playing just perfect. If the conditions stay the same, I have a very, very good chance."

Certainly, there is no danger of Singh casting a worried glance at anyone; either on the range, or coming down the stretch in a tournament.

"I don't think I'm afraid of anyone out here. It's really up to me to play. If I go out there and start worrying about Tiger or Phil or Ernie, then I'm in the wrong business. I've got to go out there and try to figure out how I'm going to manage my game, and how I'm going to beat everybody else in the field. And that's how I think out there."

All of which sounds just a wee bit ominous for those seeking to dislodge him from the world's number one spot, and for the even larger number of players seeking to win the Masters.