It was Justin Leonard's performance in the World Golf Championships -- CA Championship in March that got him into the Masters field this year. (Cannon/Getty Images)

It's not that big a deal. Yet it kinda is.

There's something about opening the envelope. Holding it in your hand. Knowing you're back where, honestly, you belong.

Leonard failed to earn an invite last year, missing his first Masters in more than a decade. That didn't sit well with the former British Open and PLAYERS champion, whose game rounded into form with the help of his former coach, Randy Smith.

"I wouldn't say that I took it for granted, but (I figured) somewhere along those lines that I would be here every year,'' Leonard said. "And I think I feel pretty good about being here this year because (as) of Jan. 1, I wasn't in the field. And I went out and earned my way in."

Which he did when he moved into the top 50 of the Official World Golf rankings after the World Golf Championships-CA Championship following a tie for 34th finish.

Once his spot was sealed, he was hoping to get the actual invitation last week while at the Shell Houston Open. But when his buddies called him Monday and asked if he'd received his invitation, he said no. When they called Tuesday, again it was no. Finally, it landed in agent David Winkle's office Wednesday, but of course, Leonard was already in Augusta.

While his even-par 72 on Thursday wasn't a bad way to start, Leonard had it to 2-under through 13 but missed putts coming in. And, he missed a 6-footer for par at the 18th hole.

"It was a 6 footer and just didn't hit it hard enough,'' he said. "So it's hard on these greens to hit aggressive putts. And that was one where I probably needed to certainly play a little more aggressively than I did.''

Leonard's putting wasn't particularly sharp last week in Houston -- where a windy, rainy 74 in the third round cost him a top-10 finish.

"I've had some nice practice days here,'' he said, "so I definitely had the attitude I could come out and play well, and I'm not surprised at all by the way I played.''

Leonard has had just two top-10 finishes here in his first dozen starts. In the previous three Masters, he hurt himself right out of the game with opening rounds of 82 (2003), 76 in 2004 and 75 in 2005 and 2006.

This time, he's in the thick of it -- after 18 holes, at least.

"It's nice to play a good first round,'' he said. "It seems like I've been behind the 8 ball a lot here after the first day. So it's nice to get in a good round, and it would have been great to get it under par, but still, I have to look at the day as a whole and not just the last few holes.''

Leonard's first Masters came courtesy of winning the 1992 U.S. Amateur. Back then, he flew in to play the course a month earlier, mainly to "take the awe out" of playing Augusta National. But as he noted, "I don't know if you could ever really do that."

But while a first-round 72 may seem like a pretty comfortable place to be Thursday night -- after all, he's in the same spot as Tiger Woods -- Leonard is not about to let his guard down at Augusta National.

"I don't think anybody feels really comfortable on this golf course,'' he said. "But I do like the way it looks. Sometimes on the greens, it's hard to hit putts or even approach shots with a whole lot of conviction when sometimes you're playing it 30 or 40 feet away from the hole.

"I don't know how well the course sets up for me, but I love the difficulty of it. And it's just a huge challenge on every swing and I enjoy that.''