Expect to see more and more talented young Australian golfers bursting on the scene. One of them might even be the first from his homeland to win the Masters someday.

Most are products of two national youth developmental golf programs started in Australia in the early 1990s that are now turning out polished players.

Of the five Australians in the Masters, three of them (Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby and Aaron Baddeley) are products of the golf programs.

The programs, which are not affiliated with each other, are the Victorian Institute of Sport and the Australian Institute of Sport. The former is locally run; the latter is nationally financed.

The programs identify youngsters in their early teens who have potential in golf. The programs, for boys and girls, have 12-16 students each.

The main difference between the two institutes, according to Allenby, is that the Australian Institute of Sport takes on fewer youngsters each year and also houses them.

Allenby, a Victorian Institute graduate, said both institutes ``pick who they think has great ability as a youngster. You're selected. You can't say, `Oh, I'm going there.'''

The golfers receive swing instruction, along with help from sports psychologists, strength and conditioning coaches and nutritionists. Some even receive career advice from Australian pros such as Greg Norman.

``Many of us made a lot of mistakes early,'' Norman said. ``We often had to unlearn things. There's no reason the next generation should repeat that.''

Allenby started at the Victoria Institute of Sport when he was 17. He won the inaugural Institute Sports Star of the Year award in 1991.

``I was fortunate because at the age of 14, Steve Bann was my coach at the the golf club I was at,'' Allenby said. ``By the time I got to about age 17, he became the head coach of the Victorian Institute. He was recognized as probably the best coach in Australia.''

Bann is still Allenby's swing coach.

Once the students reach their late teens, the institutes teach them how to make travel arrangements and work with the media, among other things.

``Just everything we need to deal with,'' Allenby said. ``When I turned pro, I was ready to travel. I knew what to expect. They send kids away; they make sure that they book their own airfares, book everything. They teach you how to call up tournaments and ask for invites in the field. Because when you turn pro you have to do it yourself.''

In 1991, the instutute paid Allenby's expenses in his attempt to qualify for the British Open.

``I went through three qualifying sections and ended up missing the cut to make the British Open by one shot,'' Allenby said. ``Then I played two tournaments and went to France for a week and Holland for another week and played the French Amateur and the Dutch Amateur. I played all these tournaments in a space of about six weeks, then went home to Australia. It was the greatest experience of all time.''

Allenby and Appleby, both 29, were the first wave to emerge from the institutes. Allenby has won three times on the PGA Tour in three seasons, including this year's Nissan Open. Appleby, now in his sixth year on the PGA Tour, also has three wins.

The next class of institute graduates includes 27-year-old Stephen Allan and 23-year-old Geoff Oglivy, both of whom are on the PGA Tour this year. Baddeley, 20, is the latest graduate to make a name for himself.

Another Australian, 20-year-old Adam Scott, did not attend either instutute because he came to the United States to play golf at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. After leaving school early and turning pro, Scott won the European Tour's Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa this year.

Baddeley is such a talent that he was the first golfer in 25 years to recieve an international invitation to the Masters as an amateur, in 2000. Now a pro, Baddeley received another international invitation this year.

He has won the Australian Open the past two years and was top money winner on the Australasian Tour this year.

Baddeley, who missed the cut in his Masters debut, has drawn high praise from the pros he has played with in this country.

``He is fundamentally one of the most sound players that you will see,'' Phil Mickelson said. ``The more time he plays, the longer he plays, the better he will get. He does not ever have to go through a period where he plays poorly to make corrections. Like Nick Faldo did in the 1980s, he's already as fundamentally sound as a player can be. His game is fine-tunement. He's going to be a tremendous player. I think he's going to be a tremendous player for quite some time.''

Norman, who has been a mentor to Baddeley, says, ``He's not afraid to ask questions and he has a very keen golfing mind. It has been a pleasure to open the vault.''