Matt McCarty was thinking more about missing the cut than contending at the Masters after dropping three shots in the first two holes on Friday, but eight birdies put him right in the mix midway through the second round
"I didn't really hit a good shot until six," McCarty said. "I think that was our first green (hit) of the day."
The 27-year-old left-hander, playing his first Masters, said he was "100%" contemplating a missed cut after opening with a double bogey and a bogey that pushed him to two-over par for the tournament after a respectable one-under 71 on Thursday.
McCarty found a way to cope with the whiplash Augusta National so famously produces, drawing confidence from his Thursday ball-striking and the knowledge that he was, in fact, putting better than he had in the first round.
"I hit the ball really well yesterday, didn't make any putts," he said. "So I knew I felt better with the putter out there, especially after three and four, and I knew if I got back to the basics and kept it simple I'd be all right."
McCarty steadied the ship with pars at the third, fourth and fifth holes, then rolled in an eight-foot birdie at the sixth to launch a run of four straight birdies -- including a 28-foot birdie putt at the seventh.
He birdied the tough par-three 12th, rolled in another eight-foot birdie at 13 and tapped in for birdie at the par-five 15th.
He reached six-under with a birdie at 17 before a slightly deflating three-putt bogey at 18 to cap a four-under par 68 that left him five-under four the tournament -- three shots off the lead when he walked off the course.
"It's a lot of fun," McCarty said of playing the iconic course he recalled from attending the Masters with his father as a youngster.
"Obviously this golf course is very difficult if you get out of position, but if you're hitting good shots and giving yourself some good looks, you can make some birdies out here.
"There's a big learning curve, but we'll see how we can do the next two days," added McCarty, who won three times on the Korn Ferry tour last year to earn promotion to the PGA Tour in August, then won his first PGA Tour title at the Black Desert Championship in October.
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