It is fair to say that not too many people, certainly not on this side of the Atlantic, noticed or even cared about the absence of Colt Knost from The Masters.
Yet he might have started a trend and if others do follow his example it ought to give the powers-that-be in golf something to think about in these fast-changing times.
Who on earth is Colt Knost, I hear many of you shout?
Well, for a while last year he was the world's best amateur and by winning the United States title he guaranteed himself a tee-off time alongside defending champion Zach Johnson at Augusta National and also places in the coming US Open and Open Championship.
He was not there with Johnson, though, and unless he comes through qualifying he will not be at Torrey Pines or Royal Birkdale either.
Knost, who had already earned a Masters spot by capturing the US Public Links tournament (like Trevor Immelman before him), had to stay amateur to keep his exemptions and he decided he did not want to.
Playing as well as he was towards the end of last season the 22-year-old Walker Cup star thought there was no time like the present to begin cashing in.
And even if he has not exactly taken the professional game by the scruff of the neck, failing to win a US Tour card and pocketing less than Ј19,000 so far on the second division Nationwide Tour, he still believes he did the right thing.
"I don't regret it at all," he says. "If you ask every player out here, if they were on the roll I was on, they would have done the same thing I did.
"I couldn't wait around eight months for one tournament."
All he wants to do, understandably, is get on with his career, but until he starts playing in majors the questions will keep coming on the ones he turned down.
"It's ridiculous - if I miss a cut it's the stupidest thing I've ever done and if I play good I'm going to look like a genius."
England's Danny Willett, who twice faced Knost in the Walker Cup singles at Royal County Down last September and sank a 20-foot putt to earn a half with him in their second match, is now the world's number one ranked amateur himself.
Last week Willett, the reigning English and Spanish champion, added the Australian stroke play title and since he also finished 19th on his European Tour debut in the Andalucian Open last month the 20-year-old from Sheffield is starting to look a hot property.
So what should he do if he also wins the British Amateur at Turnberry in June and with that earns invitations to The Open and Masters?
Playing in The Open would be an easy decision because he would have to wait only a month.
But the next Masters is, of course, not until next April and while no British Amateur has, certainly in recent history, declined the invitation it would be understandable if someone in Willett's position did.
There would be a queue of sponsors and management companies seeking his signature on the dotted line and, as nice as fame is, a fortune is hard to turn down, especially not knowing what the figures might have dwindled to if the rest of the season fizzles out.
Could it be time therefore for Augusta National, the United States Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient Club to at least consider ending the requirement that amateurs winning places in their majors have to stay amateur to play in them?
And if there is an unwillingness to go the whole hog on that, perhaps the exemption should stipulate that no prize money will be paid to those who earn places through amateur tournaments. Simple - the golfer gets his reward whether he turns professional or not, the amateur ethos is maintained.
Surely that would be better than a succession of players following the lead of Knost.
Billy Payne, chairman of Augusta National, said during The Masters: "From the very beginning of our tournament considerable emphasis has been placed on amateur participation.
"Early on our founders, including the greatest amateur of all Bobby Jones, established qualification standards which ensured a permanent and prominent place for amateurs in our competitive field.
"The ultimate prize of a Masters invitation has inspired amateur golfers over the decades to compete at the highest level. As they have done so and as they have become heroes to their contemporaries, they have influenced others to take up the game.
"The US Amateur, British Amateur, the US Mid-Amateur, the US Amateur Public Links Championships all have served as gateways to the Masters and all have broadened interest in our great game.
"Yet there remains, we believe, an untapped opportunity in Asia and other parts of the world where amateur golf has its greatest growth potential. Together with our partner the R&A and other golf organisations we want to pursue the development of amateur golf for the purpose of creating heroes and legends among the representative countries."
He later added: "There is always thought about how to produce the best competitive field and still preserve the amateur traditions that are a part of our history.
"It's an on-going thought process, but nothing currently in the works that would change where we are in our qualifications for amateurs."
So whoever becomes British champion is likely to have that decision to make.
For the time being, however, Willett, who failed in his bid at the weekend to complete the double of Australian stroke play and match play victories, has other events to concentrate on.
He is back in European Tour action next week at the Spanish Open in Seville.
