April 7 (Bloomberg) -- Trip Kuehne has lodging reservations at the Masters Tournament that even Augusta National Golf Club members can't get.
Kuehne, who runs the venture-capital firm Double Eagle Capital Management in Irving, Texas, won the 2007 Mid-Amateur Championship to earn his second berth in the Masters and an invitation to stay in the ``Crow's Nest,'' the space atop the clubhouse at Augusta National Golf Club. He roomed with Tiger Woods the first time he was there, in 1995.
The 30- by 40-foot area (9 by 12 meters), with white walls and a Masters green carpet, has housed amateurs who became champions, including Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw and Woods. Its occupants are within earshot of roaring crowds and steps from rubbing shoulders with the game's elite. Kuehne finished second behind Woods in the 1994 U.S. Amateur Championship to earn his first reservation there.
``I'm going to stay there a couple of nights and soak in some more of the history,'' Kuehne said in a telephone interview. ``The history I have there and the guy that I have it with, being Tiger Woods, is pretty phenomenal.''
Five amateurs are invited to play in the Masters. Kuehne will be joined in the Crow's Nest for this year's April 10-13 tournament by Michael Thompson, the U.S. Amateur runner-up, and Drew Weaver, the British Amateur winner. Colt Knost, winner of the 2007 U.S. Amateur and Public Links titles, forfeited his Masters entry by turning professional.
Above Champions
The quarters sit at the top of a narrow staircase just above a locker room reserved for Masters champions. Modest bedrooms are set around a living area. The walls are lined with photos of the game's greats, from club founder Bobby Jones to two-time winner Byron Nelson. The space is topped by an 11-foot square cupola that once was accessible by ladder, offering 360- degree views of the Georgia course.
``That was pretty amazing, just the whole experience of my first Masters there in the Crow's Nest,'' Woods, who was 19 years old at the time, told reporters last month. ``Say you played and you're resting, you still hear all the roars out there.''
Woods, who said his memories included getting up early to see honorary starters Gene Sarazen and Nelson tee off just yards from where he slept, made the 1995 cut with two even-par rounds. He finished tied for 41st at 5-over.
`Giggling Like Girls'
Woods and Kuehne also sneaked into the champions locker room, which left them ``giggling like girls,'' Kuehne said.
``You want to be in that locker room somehow one day,'' said Woods, now a four-time Masters winner. ``We were talking about that; wouldn't it be cool if one of us won this week? Obviously, we weren't even close.''
Soaking in the Masters history from such a perch can also be overwhelming, players say, often taking a toll on their scorecards.
``By the time Thursday rolled around, I was mentally and physically exhausted and hadn't even teed off in the tournament yet,'' said Kuehne, who shot a 79 and a 76 to miss the cut.
After two nights in the Crow's Nest this time, he'll join friends and family tomorrow at rented homes away from the course.
Thompson, a University of Alabama senior who plans to turn pro after the U.S. Open, said he'll stay in the Crow's Nest all week.
``It's an opportunity I've got to take advantage of,'' he said in an interview. ``I've heard that one of the best times is going out at 6 or 6:30 at night and going to the putting green, talking with the pros, and having a good time, so I'm looking forward to doing that sort of stuff.''
Worth the Trouble
Weaver, a college junior in Blacksburg, Virginia, said any inconveniences of the Crow's Nest will be worth the experience.
``It's definitely pretty tight quarters up there, so it will be pretty similar to my dorm room life, but not quite the same,'' he said in an interview.
The tournament organizers provide bathrobes for the Crow's Nest guests. Ear plugs and sleep masks are their own responsibility.
U.S. PGA Tour veteran Scott Verplank said he ``highly recommends'' that amateurs take the opportunity to stay there, while warning of the distractions.
``When the sun comes up, it's bright and the kitchen is right below the thing,'' Verplank, a 1985 guest, said in an interview. ``Once they start cooking breakfast for everybody, it gets pretty noisy.''
Verplank shot a 78 and 74, missing the cut that year.
The Masters has a special place for amateur golfers because Jones, a lifelong amateur, created the event with Clifford Roberts. The week's low-scoring amateur who makes the cut is honored in a ceremony inside the course's Butler Cabin, just before the champion dons the traditional green jacket.
``The ultimate way to go out would be for Tiger to win the tournament and me to be sitting in Butler Cabin as the low amateur,'' said Kuehne, who will retire from competitive golf at the end of this week to focus on his financial career.
To contact the reporters on this story: Mason Levinson in Augusta, Georgia, at mlevinson@bloomberg.net; Michael Buteau in Augusta, Georgia, at mbuteau@bloomberg.net.
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