AIKEN --- It was Houndslake Country Club and not Augusta National. It was the Peach Belt Conference Tournament and not the Masters. It was Mark Immelman and not Trevor.

Mark Immelman, the Columbus State coach, believes his younger brother Trevor's Masters win is just a start. (Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff)

It wasn't even a triumphant return to the area, as Columbus State finished a distant fourth in defense of its conference title.

However, this Immelman didn't mind basking a little longer in the glow of his little brother's victory on the opposite side of the Savannah River only 10 days prior. His life didn't change, but his mood has.

"I teach golf, and I wake up in the morning and go to a job," said Mark Immelman. "I've got a bigger smile on my face, I guess."

The Immelmans of South Africa returned to work this week in their respective careers -- Trevor at the PGA Tour stop in Texas and Mark as the head coach of his alma mater, Columbus State. But they can be excused if their minds occasionally drift back to Masters week in Augusta. Mark still marvels at attending Billy Payne's post-Masters party in the clubhouse, where the food served was a sampling of the previous Champions Dinner menus.

"I looked at the trophy and saw these names like Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan," said Immelman of the legendary names his brother is now etched beside. "And to see Trevor standing there in a green jacket and making a bit of an acceptance speech to the members was almost too surreal."

It was 28-year-old Trevor Immelman who earned his first major by taking a first-round lead and never letting go, but it's 37-year-old Mark who deserves a piece of the credit.

Mark was the one his kid brother tagged along with while he played junior matches against the likes of Ernie Els and Retief Goosen. He was the one who served as Trevor's only swing coach for years until sharing the consulting post with David Leadbetter. He was the one who honed his brother's putting stroke for three days, leading to his breakthrough triumph on some of the world's gnarliest greens.

And Mark Immelman might have been the only one who saw this Masters champion coming.

"I talked to my dad early in the week and said I had a really good feeling about the week because I saw his game come together," Immelman said. "Wednesday, when I left (Augusta), my wife and I chatted on the road back to Columbus, and I said if he just gets off to a good start tomorrow morning and makes one of those little sliding 4-footers, he'll be good."

Immelman's Masters putting performance belied his struggles on the greens leading up to the season's first major. He came into town ranked 202nd out of 204 players on the PGA Tour in putts per greens in regulation and carrying two putters in his bag.

"I kind of laughed and said, 'No, no, no, let's go fix this up,' " Mark said.

They did Monday morning and then played nine holes with two-time Masters winner Ben Crenshaw, regarded as one of the sport's greatest putters.

"He confirmed to him in so many words that what we were doing," Mark Immelman said. "It basically built a foundation under him."

What his brother did was take Trevor Immelman's focus off the hole to help restore confidence.

"I saw the makings of what needed to happen," Mark Immelman said. "We took away from the misses and makes really because you can get very results-oriented and think you're doing something wrong if you're missing putts.

"So the entire focus of what he was doing was to hit 'yes' putts or 'no' putts. Sometimes a 'yes' may miss, and sometimes a 'no' may go down. Just to help him mentally and take the emphasis away from the hole."

The progress was nearly lost in the Par 3 Contest, where the older brother caddied for the younger. After Immelman lipped out his tee shot on the ninth hole, Trevor asked Mark if he wanted to take the final birdie putt.

"I told him, 'No, I need you to make this,' " Mark said and Trevor did make the putt. "I think he got down on himself a little, and we went back and had a good two-hour session on the putting green."

This older brother's teaching relationship dates back to when Mark started the game at age 13, while Trevor was only 4.

"I was getting into high school, he was trying to bumble along behind us and trying to keep up," Mark said. "Then all of the sudden we were trying to keep up with him."

When Mark came to what was then Columbus College at the insistence of Columbus native and former Aiken resident tour pro Hugh Royer III, he returned to South Africa as an All-American. Trevor was 13 then, yet on Mark's second day home he lost handily to his little brother.

"That's when I knew maybe the best golfer in the world thing wasn't for me if you can't even beat your household," Mark said. "I've always enjoyed the teaching and technical aspects of the game. That confirmed for me what I should be doing."

And his brother confirmed at the Masters that they'd each made the right choices. The older brother believes the green jacket was just a start.

"Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if this opens a flood gate," he said. "Because now he knows. He's won at every level of the game, so now he can just take the hand brake off and let it go."

That's the older brother and teacher talking. For the rest of their relationship, little changed.

"I'm slightly more respectful of him now," Mark said with that broader than usual smile.