Photo courtesy of Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech's Drew Weaver will play in the Masters this week.

Drew Weaver has helped Virginia Tech win an ACC title. He has won the British Amateur and has played in the British Open.

But this week, the Tech junior will play in the Masters.

"It's going to be the best week of my life," Weaver said in a phone interview Wednesday while heading to Augusta National for a practice round. "The Masters is as big as it gets for any golfer. It's the ultimate dream for me.

"I didn't imagine I'd be playing my first Masters at age 20."

Last June, Weaver became the first American since Jay Sigel in 1979 to win the British Amateur. That victory earned him invitations to last July's British Open and to the Masters.

Weaver's week will begin with practice rounds Monday and Tuesday; the tournament begins Thursday.

The High Point, N.C., native will be one of just three amateurs in the Masters field. He is looking forward to sleeping in the Crow's Nest, atop Augusta National's storied clubhouse.

Housing amateurs in the Crow's Nest -- just above the champions' locker room -- is a Masters tradition that has included Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

"There's a ton of history up there, and I'm really fortunate to be a part of it," Weaver said.

Weaver did quite well for Tech last fall, when he had top-10 finishes in three of the team's four tournaments.

But his best finish in Tech's first four tournaments this spring was a tie for 20th last weekend.

His spring average is a 74.3, including a 2-over-74 in Friday's first round of the Augusta State Invitational in Evans, Ga. He has shot at or below par in just two of his 13 rounds for Tech this spring; Saturday's play was suspended.

Weaver said he had trouble focusing in some of the spring tournaments because he would daydream about Augusta.

"You do think about the Masters a lot," Weaver said. "I've had people come up and ask me about the Masters pretty much every day for the past six months."

Weaver also struggled this spring to live up to his own expectations.

"He puts a lot of pressure on himself to succeed," said Tech coach Jay Hardwick, whose team will compete in the ACC championships April 18-20 in North Carolina.

"It's very easy to ... worry about what people will think if you hit a bad shot, play a bad round," Weaver said. "I was really tense and wasn't having any fun on the golf course."

Weaver worked with Hardwick and his sports psychologist. He said he is starting to do a better job of clearing his mind, and he feels good about his game again.

On Tuesday in suburban Atlanta, he fell 2 and 1 to Colt Knost in the Georgia Cup, an annual match between the reigning champs of the British Amateur and U.S. Amateur.

Wednesday marked Weaver's 13th practice round at Augusta National since December.

"When I've been down there, ... the overwhelming importance and history of the club is really powerful," Weaver said. "You're really stepping on hallowed grounds.

"The golf course is not an easy one. You need at least eight or 10 rounds under your belt to get a good sense of where the ball kicks and where to hit it and where it put it on the greens. Every time I've played it, I learn something new."

Weaver is taking his courses online this semester, which is fortunate. Because of his individual and team playing schedules, he has not set foot on campus the past two weeks, nor will he his week.

Weaver's experiences last summer at the British Open, where he missed the cut at Carnoustie by just two strokes, and the Scottish Open should help him as he plays alongside the greats of the game at the Masters.

"I was very awestruck," he said of playing in the British Open and Scottish Open. "You're so used to watching those guys on television, and ... I'm on the range looking over my shoulder at Ernie Els and Davis Love and all these different guys.

"At the Masters, I should be a little more used to it. But then again, it's the Masters."

As he was at the British Open, Weaver will be in the media spotlight this week -- especially with the anniversary of the April 16 shootings looming.

Weaver, who was about 100 yards from Norris Hall when the shootings there began, will hold a news conference at Augusta on Monday.

ESPN will air a feature on him during "SportsCenter" telecasts this weekend and during its Masters preview show at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"The thing that I think is very important is that I can give a real personal interpretation of what's going on at the school," he said. "So many times, especially last April and the months following, people really had a skewed view of how the university was.

"Me going out and being able to tell the real side of things from a student's perspective is very important. ... The university's come back and we've healed very well."

He will have a Tech logo on his shirt, hat, golf balls and bag this week.

Weaver's father was his caddy at the British Open and Georgia Cup, and will have that role again in the par-3 tournament Wednesday.

But his caddy for the Masters will be his swing coach, former Giles High School and Tech golfer Jim Brotherton. Brotherton, the golf director at High Point Country Club, has tutored Weaver for about 10 years.

"I've been to the Masters, but never inside the ropes," Brotherton said. "I don't know who'll be more excited, him or me."

"It's such a special week," Weaver said.