AUGUSTA – The Masters leaderboard had everything entering the weekend.

There was, of course, Tiger Woods, the best player in the world by a millennium or two, seeking to become the first modern-day player to win four professional Grand Slam titles in succession. No one has ever had the unique pleasure of admiring the trophies for the U.S. Open, PGA, British Open and Masters on his coffee table or mantel at the same time.

There was Phil Mickelson, a player of unlimited talent whom many expected to challenge Woods at every turn, seeking his first major championship after going 0-for-34 entering this week.

There was David Duval, who like Mickelson is seeking his first major, but having had his heart broken by the demons at Augusta National two times in the last three years in near-misses.

There was Lee Janzen, winner of two U.S. Opens and seeking his first other major title.

There was Steve Stricker, whose wife, Nicki, carries not only his bag as his caddie, but his psyche and confidence as his best friend.

There was Angel Cabrera, a former caddie from Argentina who’s been in the mix in some majors, having finished fourth at the 1999 British Open, but is known to few in the U.S.

There was Darren Clarke, the smiling Irishman whose work ethic and commitment to the game has been questioned, though he seems to have no fear.

There was Jim Furyk and his looping back swing that many so-called experts said would never hold up to win a major.

There was Mark Calcavecchia, who, at age 40, has seemingly been reborn with a new putting style that has led to a win, a tie for second anmd a third-place finish already this season.

Speaking of Calcavecchia’s unorthodox putting style, there, too, was a man named Chris DiMarco on the board.

Entering yesterday’s second round, DiMarco was atop the prestigious leaderboard packed with many of the game’s biggest names.

Of all the compelling potential stories as victors of this 65th Masters, none is better than that of DiMarco, a 32-year-old journeyman PGA Tour grinder, who only a few years ago was so low in the game he came close to giving it up and getting a real job.

That was when fellow PGA Tour pro Skip Kendall turned DiMarco on to the bizarre claw-like putting style he still employs today.

DiMarco said “making five- and six footers became so difficult the game wasn’t fun anymore.”

When Kendall introduced the putting style to DiMarco, DiMarco embraced it because he saw immediate results.

Someone dubbed it the “psycho” grip, with the right hand gently clawing the putter grip and holding it steady as his left side makes most of the move, and DiMarco gained the nickname of “Psycho.”

His personality, though, is far from it.

DiMarco, in his consecutive days in the interview room after leading the first and second rounds, has been a delight. He, too, has come off as a player who truly believes his time is now.

Why, he wondered quietly, should he have to wait as long as Mickelson, Duval, Colin Montgomerie and other top players to win his first major?

When he was asked on Friday if he belonged in the same sentence as Woods and Duval, DiMarco gently took offense to the notion that he was some nobody who should be expected to fade away without a fight.

Early in yesterday’s third round, while paired with Woods, DiMarco was hardly rattled, bogeying No. 2 and coming right back to birdie No. 3 to stay at 10-under.

Meanwhile, Woods, who everyone expected to stare down DiMarco and melt him, parred his first four holes to remain at 8-under, two back of the lead early.

“Before Woods and Duval were Woods and Duval they had to get there somehow, right?” DiMarco asked. “Maybe this is my week to get there.”

If it turns out to be, DiMarco would become only the fourth player in Masters history to win the tournament on his first visit.

Fuzzy Zoeller was the last to do it, in 1979. The other two barely count, because the first was Horton Smith, who was playing in the very first Masters in 1934, and the second was Gene Sarazen, who won the following year.

If DiMarco is able to hold on in the face of the excruciating pressure, he’ll be the first Masters champion using such a radical putting style.

Asked before yesterday’s round if it weren’t for Kendall would he be doing something else for a living, DiMarco said, “I think I probably would have found something. I mean, we are all searching sometimes. In owe a lot to him. He kind of gave me a rebirth. It has helped me a lot.

“It was awkward at first, for sure,” DiMarco went on. “but once I saw putts going in, I got used to it pretty quickly. We’re all looking for something to get the ball in the hole, and nobody said you have to putt with two hands [in the standard grip]. Who started that in the first place? That’s just the way everybody went.

“Who knows, maybe what I’m doing was the right way the whole time, and you guys have all been doing it wrong.”

One thing’s for sure: If DiMarco is able to stare down Tiger in the eyes and overcome the rest of the field – and his own nerves – to win this prestigious tournament, there’ll be a groundswell of players around the globe trying that “psycho” grip out for size.

And another thing: The golfing community, if it hasn’t already, will embrace this DiMarco fellow, because he’s a terrific talent and has a sense of humor to go with it.

After DiMarco led the opening round Thursday, ESPN on its Thursday night telecast, ran a poll on what the Masters rookie would shoot in the second round (translation: conventional wisdom had him collapsing, showing himself as a one-day wonder).

DiMarco, who saw the poll put up, joked that he went to bed early to avoid having to see the results.

“I thought they were going to give me a 76 or better,” DiMarco quipped.

He followed his opening-round 65 with a 69 on Friday. What would follow by the end of yesterday and tomorrow will surely begin to define the career of Chris DiMarco.