Gary McCord remains persona non grata at the Augusta National Golf Club, and it's beginning to appear as though he'll never escape the black list of the men in the green coats.

But McCord's spirit returned to CBS' Masters Tournament broadcast this week all the same. It's disguised by the lilting brogue of David Feherty, but if you listen closely you'll find it's there.

``Hey, all I'm doing is having fun,'' Feherty says Friday afternoon, several hours before climbing into the tower behind the 15th green for the USA Network broadcast. ``I feel like the luckiest human being on the planet. I'm nearly 40 years old and this is my first job. I was hoping to avoid it for the rest of my life, but if you're going to have a job, this is the best I could ever imagine.''

Feherty's joy comes through in his commentary. The 38-year-old native of Bangor, Northern Ireland, is making his Masters debut in his first full season with CBS. But his style is already defined, refined and exceedingly popular among golf viewers.

It's a style not unlike McCord's, just delivered in a voice straight out of The Crying Game. Or a Lucky Charms commercial.

Just listening to Feherty leave out all those ``H's'' and roll those ``R's'' is enjoyable enough; he could read the phone book and make it sound entertaining.

But his sense of mischief and ever-clever use of the language is something to behold. He's also unflappable. Witness his deft recovery six weeks ago at the Nissan Open in Los Angeles, when he mistakenly called Nick Faldo's girlfriend ``Brenda'' instead of ``Brenna.''

What's more, Feherty is never content to simply root for putts to drop and bark ``That's a super golf shot'' 40 times a show, as so many of his colleagues do. He swings for the fences sometimes. He reaches for the home-run phrase more often than not.

Hmmmmmm. Sounds like somebody else we know.

In fact, of all the CBS broadcasters, Feherty is far and away the choice as Most Likely to Join McCord In the Masters Slammer. (That's a compliment.)

``We all miss Gary, you know?'' Feherty says. ``It's a different show without Gary, there's no doubt about that. He's been a great friend and a tremendous influence. But Gary and I are very different.

``Gary's really funny. I mean, he's really funny. A lot of things I say I'm actually serious. It's just other people who find it funny for some reason, but I'm deadly serious.''

With that Feherty gives you a deadpan double-take. Think Super Dave Osborne on his many Letterman appearances. No wonder he's replaced Ben Wright as the perfect foil for McCord.

The man with the handlebar mustache had a bit of advice for the man with the thick brogue last week. No, he didn't caution Feherty against using ``B'' words (bikinis, body bags, etc).

``He just told me to be myself,'' Feherty says. ``I'm not really any good at being anything else.''

Isn't that dangerous? Shouldn't a Masters rookie, particularly one who's also a runningmate of Mr. Infamous, bite his tongue a time or two?

``Absolutely not,'' he says. ``It's really not dangerous. There's a tradition here. They've made time stand still. There is a different way of doing things. They use a different terminology here. But I'm perfectly capable of tailoring my comments and my style to suit any particular environment I'm broadcasting in.''

Feherty is equally diplomatic when asked about the ``terminology'' that led to McCord's ban.

``That's a matter of personal preference,'' he says. ``I don't think that was the issue here. They had a problem with Gary's style. They have a way of doing things here that's their way. ...

``This is a very, very important network show where I know what is expected of me.''

Feherty is determined to make the most of his broadcasting career, in part because he was forced to endure a rollercoaster playing career.

That's not to say there weren't high points. He played for Europe in the 1991 Ryder Cup and captained Ireland to victory in the 1990 Dunhill Cup. He won numerous times on the European Tour, including the Italian, Scottish, BMW, Cannes and Madrid opens, as well as the South Africa PGA.

In 1992 he made his one and only appearance at the Masters. Feherty made the cut and finished in a tie for 52nd.

Not a bad resume, but not the impact Feherty dreamed about as a lad in war-torn Northern Ireland.

Something was always missing. He thinks he knows what it was.

``I didn't have the dedication nor the ambition to put enough work in to be No. 1 playing golf,'' says Feherty, who rarely plays official events anymore. ``Playing golf, I've really done all I wanted to do. But I've got some ambition now. Broadcasting is an area where I feel I can make some progress. I've really got some ambition now, and it's exciting for me.''

Feherty's Q-rating keeps rising all the time. This June he'll begin writing a monthly column in Golf Magazine. And he's getting recognized a bit more in public.

Like McCord, he has a distinctive feature. Unlike McCord's famous mustache, though, Feherty's feature is a bit harder to place.

``People don't know who I am right away,'' says Feherty, who lives in Dallas. ``They don't recognize my face a lot because I've got a headset and a ball cap and I'm on the course a lot, but they recognize the voice.

``They'll say, `No, no, don't tell me.'''

He slaps his forehead.

``They'll say, `You're that Rafferty. No, no, no. Wait.' And I'm standing in a supermarket thinking, `All right. OK. Yeah.' That happens to me.''

After this weekend, it should happen a lot more.