Coming out of the 2002 U.S. Amateur, they seemed a matched-pair of future stars. That year's champion and the runner-up showed up as invitees to the 2003 Masters, and then played as if they already belonged here.

Ricky Barnes, the tall, athletic product of Compton, CA was that year's "can't miss kid," and at Augusta National he shot 69-74 to sit second and third after the first and second rounds before finishing 21st.

Hunter Mahan, another California star who lost to Barnes in the Amateur final at Oakland Hills, 2&1, also played solidly all four days of that Masters to tie for 28th.

Surely they both would soon return regularly to the Masters; the PGA Tour seemed a mere formality, and -- especially in the case of Barnes -- superstardom was practically a given.

But, golf takes players down some long and winding roads. So this week, Barnes and Mahan were in Augusta together for the first time since 2003.

And again, they played as if they belonged.

Mahan, a rising PGA Tour star with two victories plus a Ryder Cup and two Presidents Cups on his resume, shot 1-under-par 71 Sunday to tie for eighth and assured another Masters invitation for 2011. A year ago, he tied for 10th.

Barnes? His stunning runner-up finish at last summer's U.S. Open seemed to demonstrate an affinity for major championships. Sunday's chip-in for birdie on the final hole locked up a tie for 10th and guaranteed he, too, will be back here next April.

Toss in Anthony Kim and Nick Watney, who finished third and seventh respectively, and it appeared the 20-somethings had arrived.

"I'll take it," Barnes said, grinning. "I definitely think setups (in majors suit him). I finished 5-under and I'm top 10. That's the kind of style that I've always played."

Barnes' circuitous journey to Sunday is well-documented: how he didn't play well enough to stick on the PGA Tour, bounced around the Nationwide Tour and never quite lived up to expectations. In 2009, when he finished 120th on the money list to retain exempt status for 2010, his Open finish provided the bulk of his earnings.

Mahan, 27, has been the success story, Barnes, 29, the puzzling what-if. "(Mahan) took a quicker, faster road than I did," Barnes said. "(But) I'm getting closer."

Both envision a day when, instead of serving as a Masters undercard to Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood, their generation will be the ones atop the leader board, vying for Green Jackets of their own.

"I think it's a natural progression of the game," Mahan said. "It's learning how to play and win in majors. Experience helps, but (Kim) is a Tour winner, I'm a Tour winner, Sean O'Hair's a Tour winner. We look forward to these (majors). These are where great players make their name."

The jury remains out if Barnes can be among those ranks. Mahan, meanwhile, appears on the verge of becoming an elite player whose next step is winning a major.

"I think so. I hope so," Mahan said. "That's what I'm playing for, and we've got three (majors) left" in 2010.

After this week, Barnes believes he can be there, too. "You know, (to) come out on Sunday and grind my way through a one over par round ... I've got to take more of that," he said. "Grind it around, chip in the last hole, and here we are."

Here they'll be, again, in 2011. "We'll see you guys next year," Barnes said, grinning.

And, the 20-somethings believe, for many years to come.

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