Getting to know the amateurs playing in the Masters

Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood are names that roll off the tongue of every golf fan watching the Masters.

Lion Kim, Nathan Smith and Jin Jeong? Not so much. While you might not know these names now, you'll probably be hearing from a few of them in the next couple of years. These six players make up the talented amateur group playing in the 2011 Masters.

Here's a quick introduction to every amateur in this week's field:

David Chung (United States): The 21-year-old Stanford University golfer wasn't lucky enough to win the U.S. Amateur, but he did get a nice consolation prize: an invite to the Masters. Not bad. Chung won the Western Amateur and the Porter Cup in 2010.

Jin Jeong (Korea): The defending British Amateur Champion, Jeong already won the Silver Medal as low amateur at the 2010 British Open at St. Andrews. So I guess playing the Masters won't be such a big deal, right?

Lion Kim (United States): A "Lion" joins the Masters this year, which means Tiger no longer has the most intimidating first name in the field. The University of Michigan senior won the U.S. Amateur Public Links to get into the tournament.

Hideki Matsuyama (Japan): Matsuyama, only 19 years old, will be playing with a lot of pressure on his shoulders as the first Japanese amateur to ever play in the Masters. He won the Asian Amateur Championship to get the invite.

Nathan Smith (United States): Smith is the only Masters veteran in the field. He defended his U.S. Mid-Amateur title in 2010, which now makes three Mid-Am victories for Smith in the last eight years. That's pretty darn impressive. While he's never made the cut, I'm sure Smith would agree it never gets old playing Augusta National.

Peter Uihlein (United States): Uihlein, the current U.S. Amateur champion, may be the most PGA Tour-ready player of the group. He already made the cut earlier this year at the Transitions Championship, and definitely has the game and mindset to make the cut at the Masters. The biggest challenge for him will be trying to not get starstruck playing with Phil Mickelson and Geoff Ogilvy in the first two rounds.