Angel Cabrera powered his way to within a shot of the halfway lead at Augusta National as he looks to add the Masters title to his US Open victory of two years ago.
The benign conditions of the opening round were replaced by a gusting, swirling wind which made the course all the more treacherous but Cabrera was not fazed as he added a second successive 68 to lie on eight under par 136 and one behind first round leader Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry.
Indeed not everyone struggled with Anthony Kim setting a new Masters Tournament record of 11 birdies in his round of 65 and Sergio Garcia also moving to four under par with a birdie on the last as dusk began to fall.
Tim Clark and Rory Sabbatini are other European Tour Members right in the hunt on four under par and only five off the lead, one ahead of group that includes the current leader of The Race to Dubai, Geoff Ogilvy, Henrik Stenson, Vijay Singh and Stephen Ames, along with World Number Two Phil Mickelson.
The man ahead of him in the World Rankings, Tiger Woods, finished at two under par, as did Padraig Harrington, whose bid for a third consecutive Major remains on track despite incurring a penalty stroke as his ball moved on the 15th green after address.
Aaron Baddeley, Graem McDowell, Lee Westwood, Camilo Villegas and Sandy Lyle are also on two under par, the 1988 Masters Champion picking up five successive birdies from the 13th.
Cabrera admitted he lost his confidence in the two years since his US Open triumph at Oakmont but has worked hard to get back. On today’s evidence he is not far off.
“What I felt at Oakmont was very special,” he said. “And here I am feeling very good but still, there’s a lot of tournament to go. We are only halfway. I think in this tournament I will have a lot of chances if I am able to make all those putts from within ten feet.”
Tim Clark won the Par 3 contest on Wednesday and he is attempting to become the first player to win that and the Masters Tournament. A second round of 71 gave the South African a five under par total of 139, one behind 2004 Open Champion Todd Hamilton.
Garcia produced a superb 67 to move to four under par, finishing with three birdies in the last four holes. The World Number Three has missed the last cut in the last two Masters but this year is right back into contention.
“It’s been a long time coming, I guess,” said the Spaniard. “This week I came with no expectations. I thought I was going to have a hard time to make the cut and all of a sudden I shoot a good round like today and it puts you in a good position. But it’s a long way to go. The course is getting tougher every day, so we’ll see what happens.”
Kim was on fire as he peppered the flag to pick up an incredible 11 birdies. The fact he also had a double bogey and two bogeys did little to dampen his mood. “I haven’t been making 11 birdies in two days so to do it in one round is pretty special. And to do it at Augusta is amazing.”
Padraig Harrington looked like being the leading European after an eagle on the 13th put The Open and US PGA champion three under.
However, he was then involved in a rules discussion when his ball was blown by the wind on the 15th green.
Because he had addressed it previously a one-shot penalty was imposed and instead of putting for birdie the putt he then sank was for par.
Harrington then bogeyed the 17th and when his birdie putt at the last horseshoed out he was round in 73 for two under.
"It started to blow, so I stood off it, but a gust came and blew it three feet further away.
"It's strange. It happened to me before when the referee ruled it was not a penalty, but I grew up thinking it was, so it wasn't hard to take and I was pleased that I collected my thoughts and knocked the putt in."
As for his prospects of winning a third successive Major, he said: “I cannot take another day like that where I had half a dozen, certainly four putts I was picking out of the hole which missed. I wouldn’t be able to absorb those over the next two rounds. You can absorb some of it but at this stage I don’t think I can. Things have got to go right over the next couple of days.”
In the gusty conditions the course showed far more teeth than it had on the opening day, but Campbell was still able to add a two under par 70 to his dramatic opening 65.
The 34 year old Texan even reached 11 under after ten holes, then bogeyed three of the next seven before closing with a 30-foot birdie putt.
Ryder Cup teammate Perry did supremely well to keep a bogey off his card and with birdies on the first, second, 12th, 15th and then the last from five feet he was round in 67.
Teenager Rory McIlroy began to make a charge with an eagle on the 13th but then dropped five shots in the last three holes, four-putting the short 16th and taking a triple bogey seven on the last. He did however, make the cut on the mark of one over par.
