Matt Kuchar struggles with late bogeys at Masters

Matt Kuchar was one of eight players who had a share of the second-round lead in the Masters on Friday — even after he played his first nine at 1-over par.

But a tee shot blown over the green at the par-3 12th hole and a bogey at the par-5 15th dropped him out of first and the St. Simons Island, Ga., resident had another three-putt at No. 18 to finish with a 75 and in a tie for 14th at 1-under 143.

While Kuchar said his standing was "decent position," he echoed almost everyone in the field when he added, "very, very hard day."

"Bummer at the last to three-putt," he said. "I took the wrong strategy there on the putt. That and 15 were tough breaks. It's one of those days where I'm kind of anxious to kick my feet up in the house and watch the guys deal with it the rest of the afternoon."

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Kuchar hit only eight greens and eight fairways. He held himself together well on the first nine, including a par at the par-3 fourth after hitting his tee shot into the bleachers behind the green, but a bogey at the par-3 12th, after another tee shot blown over the green, and the bogey at No. 15, ended any reasonable chances of matching par.

The 15th hole was what really irked Kuchar. He hit his tee shot down the middle and had 233 yards to the back of the green. He hit a hybrid that he said carries 228 yards but watched in dismay as the ball soared over the back of the green – way over.

His first pitch was short of the putting surface, by design, and after getting the ball on with his fourth shot, he needed two putts to get down. Kuchar said if he carried his third shot all the way to the green, it would likely roll off the front and into the water.

"From that far over the green, you're looking for your best place to hit your fourth shot from," he said. "You're not even looking at trying to get on the green. Your third shot is strictly a position shot to try to figure out where you think you can get up and down from. It was tough because I thought I actually played a good third and a good fourth shot, and a good fifth, and tapped in for six. That's how this course operates."