After Hank Kuehne captured the U.S. Amateur in August, it didn't take Trip Kuehne long to declare his rehabilitated younger brother a Masters Tournament threat.
``Hank hits it longer than Tiger, and he hits those high draws that you need to survive at Augusta National,'' said Trip, Hank's caddie and himself a Masters participant in 1995.
``If Hank's game is peaking, and if he believes in himself, he can do it. He can win the Masters.''
It's a harrowing thought to think an amateur could win one of golf's four majors, but don't tell these play-for-no-pay golfers they are here for decoration only.
Thanks in part to Matt Kuchar's outstanding Masters and Jenny Chausiriporn's U.S. Open run a year ago, this amateur six-pack enters as a confident contingent, with visions of donning the green jacket come week's end.
``Seeing what Matt did proves that it's possible for an amateur to play well at Augusta,'' Hank Kuehne said.
``I think the only thing the amateurs probably lack is being in the hunt,'' Kuchar said. ``There is going to be quite a battle for low amateur. And if one of us gets hot, who knows?''
Before Kuchar there was Ken Venturi, who led for three rounds in 1956 only to balloon to a 80 on Sunday and lose by one to Jack Burke Jr. And before Venturi came the free-spirited Billy Joe Patton, who 45 years ago led the incomparable Sam Snead and Ben Hogan on Sunday before his failed gambles at 13 and 15 left him one shot out of a playoff.
Suffice it to say that no amateur has won the Masters, which was founded by Bobby Jones, the ultimate amateur. Three nonprofessionals, though, have won Wednesday's Par-3 Contest, the last being Jay Haas in 1976.
During a practice round in October, Kuehne, a senior at Southern Methodist University, shot a record-tying 20 at the National's Par-3 Course.
What makes his story so enthralling is that Kuehne is a recovering alcoholic four years removed from his last drink. At 13, he battled dyslexia, attention deficit disorder and depression, all of which contributed to his alcoholism. He admitted to playing a junior tournament drunk, and his drinking continued into his days at Oklahoma State.
It was there that Kuehne, while driving home from a party in 1995, ran a stop sign and slammed into another car, breaking several ribs. He checked into Hazelden Rehab Clinic in Minnesota soon after that, missing his brother Trip's glorious Masters week.
``It's an easy choice for me now,'' Kuehne said. ``Either I can't drink, or I can die. That's not hard. No matter what I do in golf, I've already had my greatest victory.''
Kuehne's week starts in earnest on Tuesday when he pairs with British Amateur champ Sergio Garcia in a practice round match against Tiger Woods and Mark O'Meara.
Garcia is the Spanish wunderkind, who many in Europe are calling a younger Seve Ballesteros. At 19, Garcia has already won a professional event in Spain, and he will likely turn pro after the Masters.
Other amateurs include:
-- First-timer Tom McKnight, the owner of 17 gas stations in southwest Virginia, who lost to Kuehne in last year's U.S. Amateur final 2 and 1.
-- John ``Spider'' Miller, the Mid-Amateur champ, who is looking to improve on his '97 Masters, in which he shot 82-81, besting only Arnold Palmer, who was recovering from prostate cancer, and '57 champ Doug Ford.
-- Trevor Immelman, a South African who hopes to be the first Public Links champion to make the cut.
This year's amateurs can see themselves wearing green jackets 