By Frank Pingue
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – Masters debutant Matt McCarty was prepared to spend the weekend at Augusta National watching the conclusion of the Masters but will have a much better view after moving off the cutline and into contention on Friday.
McCarty, in only his second major championship start, began the second round at one under par but was quickly in danger of missing the halfway cut after following an opening double-bogey with a bogey.
At that point the 27-year-old American, who had no plans to compete anywhere next week, could not help but let thoughts of missing the cut creep into his mind and perhaps spending the weekend outside the ropes and watching as a patron.
“I was going to take next week off anyway. I probably would have hung out for a couple days, but it’s way better to do it this way than just walking around,” McCarty said after signing for a four-under-par that left him at five under on the week.
“I’m glad I don’t have to find out.”
McCarty kick-started his round with a birdie at the par-three sixth where his tee shot from an elevated tee settled eight feet from a tricky pin position at the front edge of a green that is guarded by a bunker.
That launched a sizzling run of four consecutive birdies for McCarty, who added four more birdies on his inward nine before closing his with a bogey after missing a five footer for par.
“I don’t know, just kind of stuck with the game plan. I didn’t let myself get too rattled I feel like,” said McCarty. “Just stayed focused and didn’t think about what happened earlier and kind of moved on, and it was good.”
To prepare for the year’s first major, McCarty spent four days on site earlier this year and played a “mock tournament” with himself on a course he already felt familiar with.
McCarty said he attended a Masters as a young child with his father and in addition to remembering having MoonPies and sweet tea, gained a familiarity with the famed layout.
“Not as well as most of these guys in the field I feel like, but as well as I’ve probably known any course this year just from growing up watching it on TV so much, honestly,” said McCarty.
“You kind of — there’s obviously some new changes every year, but I’ve been watching this tournament on TV since I
was five years old, I think.”
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Augusta, Georgia, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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