One hole from rewriting 46 years of Masters history, Jason Day will continue to swear on the inside and wait for the putts to drop after giving himself a fighting Masters chance.
The Australian was on track to become the first man to go bogey-free through the tournament’s first 36 holes since Ed Sneed in 1979, until his first blemish on the 18th green on Friday.
The PGA Championship winner 10 years ago settled for his second two-under-par round of 70 to be four-under-par and four shots back from leader Justin Rose entering the weekend.
He had at least four looks at birdie to move within two shots of the lead on the back nine, but could only throw his head back as putts rolled by or fell short.
The wind became a factor late on Friday, Day caught short of the 18th green and then missing an eight-foot par putt in his only slip-up so far.
“Inside, I’m like swearing at myself,” he said of his near-misses on the green. “But … this golf course … it can frustrate you.
“When you’re missing putts and giving yourself opportunities, it is what it is.
“I feel like the stats will soon kind of turn for me, and hopefully it’s this weekend.
“If I can get myself rolling the way that I feel like I can, then I feel like I can get myself into contention.”
He was the shining light on a miserable day for Australia’s other two Masters veterans Adam Scott and Cameron Smith (both five over), who missed the cut by three shots along with the out-of-sorts Cam Davis (nine over).
Min Woo Lee (one under) recovered well from a double-bogey on the first, moving to two-under before a bogey on the 18th pushed him outside the top 20.
Scott (77, 72) hovered around the cut-line all day but the damage had been done on Thursday, the 2013 winner missing the weekend for the first time in 16 years and for just the third time in 23 visits.
The 44-year-old declined requests for a post-round interview.
Smith (71, 78) had never missed the cut in his previous eight visits to Augusta National – where he boasts five top-10 finishes – but had no answers to his deterioration after beginning the day at one-under-par.
“I don’t feel like I did that much wrong there and don’t really know what to make of it,” he said.
“I still love the place, I don’t think there’s any bad feeling there. I’ve had rounds like this before here and it can just come up and bite you.
“So I can’t wait to get back and do a bit better job.”
Rory McIlroy roared back into Masters contention as runaway overnight leader Rose saw his advantage evaporate at Augusta National.
England’s former world No.1 Rose carded a one-under-par 71 on Friday to reclaim the clubhouse lead at eight under, holing a clutch par putt on the last with his rivals circling.
Bryson DeChambeau shot a four-under 68 to finish a shot behind Rose while Matt McCarty made history to finish at five under. World No.1 Scottie Scheffler was five under through 13 holes.
But all eyes are on world No.2 McIlroy, who wilted on Thursday with a duo of double bogeys after he had soared to four under to seemingly kiss his chances of a maiden green jacket – and career grand slam – goodbye.
The Northern Irishman put that behind him on Friday, making back-to-back birdies after the turn and an eagle on the par-five 13th that shot him back into the guts of the leaderboard.
He then launched an audacious approach from the pine needles, over the towering trees, on the next hole that led to a tap-in par.
McIlroy edged a shot closer to the leaders with a birdie on the 15th – the par-5 he took seven on a day earlier – to finish just two shots off the pace.
“I think overall, just proud of myself with how I responded today after the finish last night,” McIlroy said.
“I just had to remind myself that I played really good golf yesterday, and you know, I wasn’t going to let, you know, two bad holes sort of dictate the narrative for the rest of the week.”
Phoenix native McCarty (five-under) double-bogeyed the first hole and dropped another shot on the next, but still carded a four-under 68 to take a brief clubhouse lead.
The historic recovery included eight birdies in 12 holes, McCarty the first to shoot 68 or better in a round in which he was three-over or worse at any stage.
© AAP
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