Toss that card

Louis Oosthuizen: The 2010 British Open champion Oosthuizen shot a 75 after trailing first-round leader Bill Haas by only one shot heading into the second round. The South African had an inconsistent start to the round but jumped up the leaderboard with an eagle on No. 14. He handed his solid round right back with a triple bogey on the par-5 15th hole. Another bogey on No. 18 sent him back to even par for the tournament.

Keep that card

Thomas Bjorn: After a first-round 73, Bjorn's roller-coaster second round consistent of eight birdies, four bogeys and six pars for a 68, Friday's best score shared by only three other players. He's in a four-way tie for third place at 3 under, four shots behind leader Bubba Watson and one shot behind John Senden.

On the course with ...

Jordan Spieth: Joined the leaderboard mix with an 8-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th, and a shot that settled within tap-in range for birdie on the 18th hole. That gave him a 2-under 70 and left him only four shots behind going into the weekend.

In his first appearance at the Masters, the 20-year-old Texan looks like he's been playing here most of his life. He believes he belongs.

"I've been playing against these guys, and this caliber field, World Golf Championships and other major championships," Spieth said. "So I felt like if I could get my game right and really handle myself mentally, then I could have an opportunity to be in contention. That's where I'm at now, and a lot of work to do."

Masters moment

Rory McIlroy made the cut by the thinnest of margins, encountering plenty of adventure along the way.

His tee shot on the par-3 fourth hole zipped 30 yards past the green and nearly hit an unsuspecting Adam Scott standing on the fifth tee. On No. 10, he was in the trees behind the green. On No. 13, he hit a sprinkler head and ended up in the azaleas.

He didn't know it at the time, but draining a 6-foot putt on 18 allowed him to continue playing this weekend.

"When I got in the scorer's area and saw I was in 46th place, it was a bit of a sigh of relief," McIlroy said.

Chip shot

• Television already is feeling the effects of not having Tiger Woods at the Masters. In a release, ESPN said its live telecast of the opening round Thursday had a 1.5 rating with an average audience of 2 million viewers. That's down from a 2.0 rating and 2.8 million viewers from a year ago.

Key hole

155-yard, par-3 12th: Nestled in Amen Corner, the short par-3 played difficult in strong winds. Bubba Watson hit a 9-iron to 3 feet for the first of five birdies in a row that gave him a three-shot lead midway through the Masters.

Quote of the day

"There's no give on this golf course. The hole can start looking awfully small, and those lakes can start to look awfully big."

— U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, who is nine shots off the lead after a second-round 70.

Tweet of the day

"How relaxed is Fred Couples at Augusta? He strolls down the fairways like he's walking a dog."

— Golf Digest's Dan Jenkins (@danjenkinsgd) on the 1992 Masters champion

Day 3

Several prominent names — Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Webb Simpson and past champions Charl Schwartzel and Zach Johnson — missed the cut, so who will be Watson's hottest pursuers? Television coverage continues on Ch. 4 from 2-6 p.m.

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