Masters Tournament champions aren't the only ones in this year's field who have won in Augusta.

Dustin Johnson, who is making his first start in the Masters, won the Augusta State Invitational in 2007 when he was an All-American at Coastal Carolina. (Chris Thelen/Staff)

Dustin Johnson, who is making his Masters debut, also has a victory under his belt in the Garden City. He won the Augusta State Invitational in 2007 as an All-American at Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C., shooting 68-68-68 and leading his team to victory.

The college event has a tie-in with the Masters. It ends the Sunday before the Masters practice rounds start, and the teams go to the Monday practice round.

Johnson went that day, but he had already seen Augusta National Golf Club many times. Growing up in Columbia, which is about 70 miles from Augusta, he first attended the tournament at "12 or 13," he said.

"It was always a goal growing up; I always wanted to play at Augusta," Johnson said.

Now, the second-year pro is inside the ropes, thanks to his victory in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in mid-February.

Johnson, 24, is one of those players who had the opportunity to play Augusta National as a guest of a member over the years, but always declined, waiting until he earned his way.

"I know a few members, and yeah, I could have gone and played it," Johnson said. "It wasn't tough to turn down. If something happened and I never did get to play it, I could have taken them up on their offer."

Johnson could make a splash in his first Masters, said Coastal Carolina golf coach Allen Terrell, who is also his golf instructor.

He has watched Johnson win seven times in college and twice on the PGA Tour.

"Dustin's great with handling being near the lead and being in contention," Terrell said. "He doesn't get rattled by being in contention. He respects the people he plays with; he has a lot of admiration for the people who paved the way for him, but he's not intimidated.''

Johnson says Augusta National "looks like it fits my eye very well. I'm excited about it."

Terrell said there's no telling how Johnson will react once he gets on the grounds.

"You're not really sure how someone is going to respond until they drive down Magnolia Lane," Terrell said. "It won't be until then that it really sinks in that he's in the midst of great tradition and history."

Terrell said Johnson shouldn't be overwhelmed, because he likes to keep things simple.

"Dustin is the kind of guy who doesn't quantify things; he doesn't think things are hard, things are easy. It's always a struggle to get him to give you a lot of adjectives or be more descriptive. That's why he's a great player; he's great at simplifying things."

Johnson has another factor in his favor. As one of the longest hitters on the tour (he finished fourth in driving distance on the PGA Tour in 2008 with a 309.9 average), length won't be a problem for him at the 7,435-yard Augusta National course.

Terrell said Johnson shouldn't have any trouble reaching the uphill, par-5 eighth hole in two shots. It is Augusta National's toughest par-5 to hit in two shots.

"Getting there and being in good position are two different things," Terrell said. "He'll definitely have the length to get there. They can keep designing holes; he's going to get to a par-5 in two."

Johnson said his power comes from his lower body. The fact that he's 6-foot-4 and has a wide arc on his swing doesn't hurt.

"The big thing is he always plays closed (a closed-face)," Terrell said. "We make sure the lower body supports the closed-face. When a guy is a long hitter from a closed position, you get some extra motion in the swing. After two weeks in a row, we try to reduce the excess motion in his golf swing. We work a ton on stability on his lower body."

Because the excess motion can get into the lower body and cause problems, Terrell tries to get a checkup from Johnson every two weeks on the tour.

"Anytime he says, 'Hey, can you come out?' I'll jump on a plane and go out there, whether it's for one hour or one day," Terrell said.

Reach David Westin at (706) 823-3224 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.