For a tournament that places such a high value on tradition, one of the building blocks of the Masters appears to be slipping away. This spring, only three amateurs will be in the field, the smallest number invited to participate.

U.S. Mid Amateur champion Tripp Kuehne, British Amateur champion Drew Weaver and U.S. Amateur runner-up Michael Thompson make up the short list of amateur competitors in the field.

That's quite a departure from the event's beginnings, when 12 amateurs —- including Bobby Jones —- teed it up in the first tournament. Amateurs continued to have a place of prominence through the 1960s; a tournament-high 26 amateurs played in 1966, and 12 made the cut.

The number of amateurs hovered around 10 until the qualification standards were changed in 1988. Since then, there have been no more than six amateurs in the field.

"You hope it stays important; amateur golf was always important to Bobby Jones," said two-time champion Ben Crenshaw, who made two Masters appearances as an amateur.

Would the shrinking numbers be pleasing to Jones, the ultimate amateur and tournament founder?

"It's a big change, but you can't compare amateur golf today to amateur golf when we played," said Ken Venturi, who was runner-up as an amateur in 1956. "Today there's so much money on the tour that good amateurs don't stay amateurs anymore."

That's what happened to Colt Knost, who qualified by winning the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Public Links championships. But the SMU alum decided he couldn't wait to play in the Masters or U.S. Open —- he had exemptions for both events —- because of the lure of professional golf.

Knost hasn't found his pot of gold on tour. He failed to earn his card at PGA Tour Qualifying School in the fall and has struggled when given a chance to play. Knost has played three times on the PGA Tour and made one cut, finishing tied for 36th at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. He's played twice on the Nationwide Tour, making the cut once, tying for 21st at the Mexico Open.

There wasn't much money available for professional golfers when Venturi emerged. "I made more money selling cars than I would have playing golf," he said.

That created a class of outstanding amateurs that has not been duplicated. Venturi, Frank Stranahan (1947) and Charles Coe (1961) each finished second. Billy Joe Patton missed by one shot making a playoff and finished third in 1954; he was third again in 1958 and 1959. Coe was third in 1959, 1961 and 1962. Harvie Ward was fourth in 1957.

If an amateur were to contend again, there might be more pressure to increase the number. But no amateur has made the cut the past two years. It was big news when Ryan Moore, the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Public Links champion, tied for 13th in 2005.

"The whole Walker Cup team used to qualify," Venturi said. "I don't see any need in bringing that back, because none of them are going to come close to winning."

Thompson, a senior at Alabama, is just happy to be part of the tournament. He made four trips to Augusta and played seven rounds to get a feel for the place.

"It's something that's real special for me," Thompson said. "As an amateur you set your sights on getting in the Masters and the U.S. Open. I think it'll be a lot of fun, and I'm glad they still think it's important enough to invite the amateurs."

THURSDAY-SUNDAY * AUGUSTA NATIONAL