Jason Day at the 16th at Augusta
Jason Day admitted he would be nervous going into the final two rounds of The Masters in Augusta, Georgia.
On Friday, the young Queenslander came within one shot of the course record to vault into second place, carding eight birdies in relatively benign conditions at Augusta National.
He also matched the lowest score by a Masters rookie to charge within two strokes of leader Rory McIlroy who carded a second-round 69 for 10-under.
"I didn't really know what I was shooting out there," Day told reporters.
"I learnt a lot from Rory's game yesterday, where he placed some of his shots. I had a great round today obviously. There were a few shots that I got lucky and at the end of the day I shot eight-under and I'm very happy."
"It feels amazing to be in this position right now. I played wonderfully today but obviously you need experience on Saturday and Sunday. They are the two big rounds."
"I'm going to be very nervous obviously. I've dreamt since 97 of playing in the Masters. I'm not going to back down just because I've got lack of experience. I'm going to play some play station tonight and not worry about anything."
Another Australian, Geoff Ogilvy, is also in the hunt at six-under.
Ogilvy made a horrible start with a double bogey at the par-five second, where he four-putted, but he recovered nicely.
"I had a pretty rough start there but no-one is going to go 72 holes without doing something like that," Ogilvy said.
"I knew I was playing well, so I just set out to go about my business. I was lot less worried about that than I might have been in a regular tournament, because you know things like that are going to happen around here."
But three birdies in the final seven holes lifted him to a three-under-par 69.Ogilvy has a solid record in five previous appearances at Augusta, but has never contended.
"This is the first time I've come here really happy with how I was playing," he continued.
"I'm really content with my preparation. I'm getting more of a handle on how to balance life and tour golf."
Adam Scott and Aaron Baddeley also earned a weekend stay at Augusta.
Robert Allenby and Stuart Appleby missed the cut.
