AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Matt Kuchar unpacked his bags in the Crow's
Nest, the cozy quarters atop the clubhouse at Augusta National
where Jack Nicklaus, Mark O'Meara and Ben Crenshaw all stayed when
they were amateurs.
He drove down Magnolia Lane, walked the same fairways as Gene
Sarazen, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, and had a tee time Thursday
morning with Tiger Woods.
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| Amateur Matt Kuchar finished tied for 21st at the 1998 Masters. |
If that's not enough to make Kuchar's smile wider and his eyes a
little brighter, just mention the Amateur Dinner on Wednesday night
at The Masters.
"You get all riled up," he said. "There's just something
special about being an amateur. At the U.S. Open and the British
Open, you're just another contestant. At Augusta, you feel like
you're representing Bobby Jones."
Charlie Yates is the host of the Wednesday night dinner that
honors the Masters' amateurs -- the U.S. Amateur champion and
runner-up, British Amateur champion and the winners of the U.S.
Mid-Amateur and U.S. Amateur Public Links.
Yates won the British Amateur in 1938, played in the first
Masters alongside Jones and is believed to be the only person who
has seen all 62 Masters tournaments. He tells the young players
about Jones' contributions to amateur golf, how the Masters began
and one fact that essentially becomes a challenge.
No amateur has ever won the Masters.
"It's a huge pep talk," Woods said, recalling his two trips to
Augusta as an amateur. "Every amateur who is alive and can be at
the tournament is there. They get you all fired up about the fact
no amateur has ever won."
Frank Stranahan came within two strokes of Jimmy Demaret in
1947. Billy Joe Patton finished one stroke out of the 1954 playoff
between Snead and Hogan. Ken Venturi's name will be brought up
before dessert is served.
Venturi had a four-stroke lead over Cary Middlecoff going into
the final round in 1956 but shot a staggering 80. Jack Burke Jr.
wound up winning by a stroke after starting the last round nine
strokes back.
Still, the Amateur Dinner is full of hope, not disaster.
"Everyone comes away feeling like they can win," Kuchar said. "I came away feeling like I could win. I couldn't wait to play."
Kuchar played like he took the message to heart. The former U.S.
Amateur champion finished at even-par 288, the first amateur to
make the cut since 1992 and the best score by an amateur since Rick
Fehr in 1984.
He finished in a tie for 21st, which earned him another trip to
Augusta. He will be part of the deepest and most talented crop of
amateurs at the Masters in years.
It includes Sergio Garcia, the 19-year-old British Amateur
champion with the flair and confidence of another Spanish master
from 20 years ago, Seve Ballesteros.
Also making his Masters debut is Hank Kuehne, the U.S. Amateur
champion who is said to hit the ball even farther than Woods.
But is Wednesday night's pep talk worth listening to? Can an
amateur really win the Masters at a time when the PGA Tour has so
much depth?
"Anything is possible, but it's highly unlikely," said
O'Meara, the defending champion. "Even though the amateurs are
very talented now, professionals have a lot more experience. I
think the possibilities are very remote."
No one told Kuchar that last year.
He was just six strokes off the lead going into the final round
and made an early run before finishing nine strokes back.
"When you see somebody that you play against every week in your
college tournaments and you see how much success they have out
there, it kind of makes you feel like you're not that far off,"
Kuehne said. "He had a great year, so it gave me a little bit of
confidence. It's proof that it's possible for an amateur to come
and play well at Augusta."
Garcia, who is expected to turn pro after the Masters, made a
cut on the European tour at age 14, won the Catalonian Open at 17
and last year tied for third at a Nike Tour event. He played Kuehne
last week outside Atlanta and beat him 6 and 4.
Kuchar lost to Garcia in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur
and had not been playing well. Then he showed up at the Bay Hill
Invitational and got to within five strokes of the lead on Saturday
before falling back into a tie for 60th with Lee Westwood and Colin
Montgomerie.
"They can win," Woods said. "They are young, they are brash
and they will be just fine."
Throughout the week, Garcia, Kuchar and Kuehne will end the day
together in the Crow's Nest, a 30-by-40-foot room with four
cubicles, five beds, one bathroom.
If the Amateur Dinner doesn't inspire them, the path to the
Crow's Nest should. It heads right toward the Champions Locker
Room, then veers left up a flight of stairs.
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