By David Kraft
 ESPN.com
 Thursday, April 5
AUGUSTA, Ga. - They are in their prime. They've won PGA Tour events. They've been on the leaderboard at majors. They are knocking on the door of earning a spot in the American golfing consciousness.

Jim Furyk. Mike Weir. Stewart Cink. John Huston.

 David Toms
David Toms won the par-3 contest on Wednesday. He's hoping for a different trophy on Sunday.
David Toms. Notah Begay III. Brad Faxon. Dennis Paulson.

Last year, they won nine PGA Tour events. They won nearly $14 million -- led by Weir's $2,547,829, which was sixth-best on the Tour. They're hinting at greatness.

"I think I'm very close to the elite level," Weir said a couple of weeks ago. "I've come along."

But Tour wins and all the proclamations and all the money in the world can't buy them the one thing they'd desperately like to have -- a spot in the first tier, where they'll be mentioned in the same breath with Woods, Singh, Love and Els.

For that, they'll need to win a major, starting with The Masters.

"Sure, it's important," Cink said. "This is The Masters. We know what it is."

No game is more steeped in tradition than golf. Phil Mickelson said this week that he'll be viewed one way if he wins a major, and another if he wins a slew of tournaments without a major. He's not alone in that thinking.

Cink recognizes the distinction. He says it can't enter your mind at The Masters, or any other major.

"If you put more importance on this tournament than any other, then you've automatically gotten out of your routine," Cink said. "It's an important week and we know that. But you have to execute our plan just like it's every other golf course."

But he admits it isn't easy.

None of the eight are rookies at Augusta National, and several have had success. Huston, 39, tied for third in his first Masters appearance in 1990, but hasn't been higher than 10th since.

Furyk, 30, has three top-15 finishes, including a fourth in 1998. Toms, 34, was sixth in his first Masters appearance in 1998, including a final-round 64 which included a back-nine 29.

Paulson, 38, made a run last year in his first Masters, leading after the first round before finishing 14th. Weir, 30, was fifth after three rounds in his inaugural Masters last year before shooting 78 on the final day to fall from contention.

Faxon, 39, has played at Augusta eight times, including a tie for ninth in 1993.

Cink, 27, has never finished higher than 23rd. Begay, 28, tied for 37th last year in his first appearance.

All eight have had their moments this year, including Furyk's win at The Mercedes Championship and Faxon's a week later at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Most recently, Weir was in contention last week at the BellSouth and finished second. Paulson finished third and Cink sixth in the same event.

But that was Duluth, Ga., and the TPC at Sugarloaf. This is Augusta, Ga., and Augusta National.

"Every shot normally feels the same as anywhere else, but there are a couple where you feel some extra stress here," Cink said. "The second shot at 5; the second shot at 7. Shots at 11 and 12, obviously. There are a lot of places where you can mess up out there. But when you swing the club, you can't really think any differently than you do anywhere else."

Weir will be in the spotlight, paired with Tiger Woods the first two rounds. Cink is with Fuzzy Zoeller and Greg Norman. Toms drew Raymond Floyd as a partner. Furyk is with Jesper Parnevik and Rocco Mediate. Paulson plays opposite Bernhard Langer.

None will be the featured player in their group. None seem to mind.

"Nobody expects anything of us since we're just the lowly field-fillers," Cink said.

He was laughing. For now.




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