SMU Alumni Kelly Kraft will be attending the 2012 Masters this year. (SMU Athletics )

Last August recent SMU grad Kelly Kraft overcame the No.1-ranked amateur in the world to win the U.S. Amateur Championship. Along with his trophy, Kraft also received invitations to the 2012 Masters, U.S. Open and British Open.

After his win, Kraft told amateurgolf.com, “When I got to SMU, winning the U.S. Amateur probably wasn’t a thought.”

However, the victory has led to Kraft teeing off at the Masters Thursday at 10:24 a.m. with defending champion Charl Schwartzel and PGA Champion Keegan Bradley. Kraft’s group will precede four-time champion Tiger Woods, South Korea’s Sang-Moon Bae and Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Kraft is the third SMU player to win the U.S. Amateur in the past 14 years, following Hank Kuehne in 1998 and Colt Knost in 2007.

Kraft, a Denton native, said Monday, after the Masters conclude, he will turn pro. This means he will forego his invitations to the 2012 British Open in July and U.S. Open in June.

“[The Masters] is the main prize,” Kraft told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “This is what I stayed amateur for, to play in this thing. It’s been great so far.”

Kraft, the No. 6-ranked amateur in the world, can still qualify for the British Open and U.S. Open. According to the Dallas Morning News, he is also hoping to depend on sponsors’ exemptions to enter PGA Tour events such as the HP Byron Nelson Championship in May in Irving and the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in May in Fort Worth.

He began practicing rounds in Augusta in January and returned Saturday to play 18 holes on Sunday and Monday. The Denton Record-Chronicle reported Kraft playing only 9 holes Tuesday. The short day was likely a decision to save some energy for the intense four days ahead of him.

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hursday’s live coverage will begin at 10:45 a.m., on Masters.com, and live TV broadcast will begin at 3 p.m. on ESPN.