When the Masters gets involved in a worldwide golf initiative, you can't help but take notice. When the club's chairman, Billy Payne, leaves the Augusta National grounds with green jacket in tow, it speaks volumes.

And when a coveted Masters invitation is on the line, well ... it must be a pretty big deal.

A look at the bottom line this week could certainly lead to a few raised eyebrows.

Stan Badz/PGA Tour

The winner of this week's Asian Amateur Championship will get to walk through Amen Corner in competition at next year's Masters.

The winner of the inaugural Asian Amateur Championship, to be played in China with a field comprised of unknown participants and -- to a large degree -- limited credentials, will receive a spot in the 2010 Masters field.

Meanwhile, the winner of the PGA Tour event in Jackson, Miss., the Viking Classic, will not be afforded the same perk. (In fact, none of the winners of the five Fall Series tournaments gets a Masters invitation -- which go to tournament winners during the FedEx Cup portion of the schedule.)

You can argue the fairness of it all, but the carrot that Augusta National has dangled with the Masters invite to this first-year, fledgling amateur event does speak to the club and tournament's desire to grow the game abroad.

How better to get interested in competing at golf than to know that a single victory can earn you a trip to one of golf's most famous venues?

"The Masters has a long, 75-year tradition of including numerous amateurs in our very competitive field," Payne said Wednesday in China on the eve of the tournament. "In fact, perhaps more than any other major championship, amateurs have been at the fundamental core of our tournament for many years.

"As it relates to the opportunities that the winner here will experience and enjoy, I can assure you we will extend the greatest possible hospitality to this champion, as we do to all players. They will have the wonderful experience of staying in our famous Crow's Nest while they are competing in the tournament. They will have the honor of playing on the very first day with one of our defending champions. It will be a special week, indeed, for the winner of this championship, and I think very consistent with how important amateurs have been to our tournament now for 75 years."

That, of course, dates to Bobby Jones, a career amateur who believed it important to reward amateurs in the tournament he was instrumental in growing.

In partnership with the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, Augusta National helped create a new event known as the Asian Amateur Championship that begins Thursday at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China.

The field is comprised of 120 amateurs from 30 APGC nations and weekend rounds will be televised in 150 countries (including on ESPN2 in the United States).

It sounds like a nice event, but one that would merit barely a mention if it were not for Augusta National's involvement. Payne, along with several Augusta members and staff, have made the trip to China to lend their support.

And you might even see a few of those Augusta folks wearing their green jackets, a surprise given the tradition that goes along with that green coat. Since the club began giving a green jacket to the winner of the Masters in 1949, only the champion could take it off club property -- and just for a year.

Payne broke that tradition in February when he was part of the announcement concerning the tournament -- knowing perhaps that the very symbol might be an inspiration to someone, somewhere.

There are lots of prestigious amateur tournaments that don't get much attention. And yet, the stakes are raised considerably when an invitation to the Masters is involved. The R&A's Open Championship is also exempting the top two finishers into International Final Qualifying for next year's tournament at St. Andrews.

The Masters, of course, does not have a full field of players, and so adding someone from the Asian Amateur doesn't impact those who would be considered more deserving. Still, the NCAA champion doesn't get an invite, nor does the winner of the European Amateur. You could certainly argue that they are more deserving.

At the moment, amateur spots go to the winner and runner-up of the U.S. Amateur, along with the winners of the British Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur, U.S. Public Links -- and now the Asian Amateur.

That will likely be the subject of some conjecture when a winner is decided on Sunday.

It is no surprise that the Asian Amateur Championship field is less than stellar. According to the R&A's World Amateur Golf Rankings, Australia's Daniel Nisbett is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 44 -- with just four ranked among the top 100 and only 11 among the top 200. And many of the players in the field are not from Asia, but Australia or New Zealand -- other countries that make up the APGC.

Then again, that is the point of this tournament -- to try and grow the game in the Far East.

If the field is considered weak now, the idea is to strengthen it over the years by making tournaments as big as the Masters and Open Championship part of the reward. In time, these countries will start to develop more serious and competitive golfers.

At least that is the theory.

"I think by doing so, we will certainly develop some momentum for the development of golf in this area," Payne said. "This, together with the recent success of many great Asian players and the inclusion now of golf in the Olympics, I think we can all see a very, very bright future for golf here in Asia. We are all delighted and proud to be a part of it."

A big week for Duval

When David Duval came up two strokes short of a playoff in June at the U.S. Open, at least he could be comforted by the confidence of contending in a major championship, the big check and what that did for him on the PGA Tour.

But things have not exactly gone as hoped and planned for Duval.

After that tie for second netted Duval $559,830, he moved to 82nd on the money list. It was just his fifth made cut of the year and his first top-10 since 2002, but it was deemed to be a breakthrough in a return to greatness.

Hasn't happened.

Not even close.

Since the U.S. Open, Duval has played in seven tournaments, made one cut, shot just three rounds in the 60s and padded his money total by $10,710 for his tie for 63rd at the Buick Open.

That means despite the huge boost afforded by a high finish at a major championship, Duval finds himself on the bubble this week at the Viking Classic. He has slipped to 125th on the money list, and that cutoff is a big distinction for Duval as he no longer has any of the career money list exemptions to fall back on.

Either the former No. 1 player in the world finishes in the top 125 to be fully exempt next year or he goes the sponsor-exemption, past-champion route.

The last time Duval finished among the top 125 was in 2002 when he was 80th. He's got two tournaments left to try and get it done.

A look at this week's venue

Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Miss., is in its 16th year as site of the Viking Classic, the fourth of five Fall Series events this season.

The 7,199-yard par-72 course was designed by Jack Nicklaus in 1980 and remodeled by the Golden Bear in 2006. Last year, it ranked 45th out of 54 in difficulty on the PGA Tour, and if it falls in line with the previous Fall Series events, a player will have to go low to win. Last year Will MacKenzie shot 19 under par and defeated Brian Gay and Marc Turnesa in a playoff.

The tournament that used to be known as the Mississippi Masters dates to 1968 and was played for its first 26 years at Hattiesburg (Miss.) Country Club. For many years, the tournament was played opposite of the Masters and wasn't considered an official PGA Tour event until 1994. Two years ago, it became part of the Fall Series.

First known as the Magnolia State Classic, the tournament became the Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic in 1986 and then the Southern Farm Bureau Classic in 1999 before Viking Range Corp. took over two years ago.

Bob Harig covers golf for ESPN.com. He can be reached at BobHarig@gmail.com.