Four amateurs make the cut at Masters

Japan’s Takumi Kanaya was looking over a pitch shot of just more than 10 yards on the 18th hole – knowing he had to get up and down to make the cut at the 83rd Masters.

That’s when a siren sounded Friday afternoon, stopping play due to lightning in the area, so Kanaya had to wait for 29 minutes before making the most important shot of his life.

The 20-year-old from Hiroshima closed it out like a seasoned veteran, knocking it to three feet and draining the putt to make the cut on the number at 3-over par.

He followed his 73 on Thursday with a 74 in the second round, making him one of four amateurs who made the cut, the most to do so at the Masters since 1985.

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“I knew I had to do what I had to do, so I had a good vision and image of that shot in my head,” Kanaya said through an interpreter. “It was only a three-foot putt, but I was very, very nervous."

A bogey at No. 13 put Kanaya at 5-over par, but he responded with birdies at Nos. 15 and 16.

“What I take away from this is that you never, ever give up,” Kanaya said.

Viktor Hovland, the U.S. Amateur champion, leads the amateur field after shooting a 71 to reach 1-under par for the tournament.

The junior from Oklahoma State University is the first Norwegian to play in the Masters. He said he was off his game on the front nine, but came back strong after an eagle at No. 13. He hit a 6-iron on his 200-yard approach and the ball nestled in 15 feet below the hole, where he converted the putt.

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“I really struggled on the front nine. I had a lot of really bad iron shots, but I did a great job of staying focused and relaxed and I made some huge up and downs that kind of kept me going,” Hovland said. “I played solid but I feel like I have a lot to improve on going into the weekend. If I just get a little better every day, I can climb the leaderboard.”

Alvaro Ortiz became the first Mexican to make the cut at the Masters since Victor Regalado tied for 31st in 1979. The 23-year-old Masters rookie closed out by draining an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to shoot 71 on the day. He sits at even par in a tie for 36th.

The Latin America Amateur champion had his shot of the day on the par-5 15th, where he smoked a 4-iron from 243 yards to three feet for a no-nonsense eagle.

“I flushed it right at it, and I knew it was perfect the whole time,” Ortiz said. “I was staring it down and I was glad to not have a long putt.

“Sometimes this course can get you with the conditions and the undulations. I’m happy that I got used to it and the course sets up well for my game. I’m really happy to be playing the weekend.”

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UCLA sophomore Devon Bling is soaking up the experience in his first Masters appearance, but the 19-year old has stayed grounded at the same time.

Bling said he is in the middle of a group project with classmates at UCLA, who wanted to have a face time conference with him Thursday at midnight. Bling politely declined, opting to rest up for Friday’s round – and he played well, carding a 73. He made the cut at 3-over par.

He joked that his classmates might not realize how big the Masters is, and said he is willing to take a zero on the assignment since he is focused on playing at Augusta National.

His shot of the day came on the 170-yard par-3 16th hole, where he hit an 8-iron to four feet and made birdie.

Bling bounced back after bogeying the first two holes with a birdie at the difficult par-4 fifth.

“I hit a really good drive and then a 6-iron from 197, and made one of the longer putts I made all week,” Bling said of the 18-footer he made for birdie. “It was kind of a rough start, the first two holes played a lot different than they did yesterday, but I hung in there and fought hard.”

Mid-Amateur champion Kevin O’Connell battled back after an opening round 77 and shot a 1-under-par 71 in the second round, and missed the cut by a stroke.

He had birdies at No. 12 and No. 13, before draining an eagle putt from 19 feet that brought him to 3-over par. The 30-year-old from North Carolina missed a four-foot putt for par on the 18th hole to end his tournament on a disappointing note.

“I was on a nice run and to see that eagle putt go down on No. 15 was awesome and it was important in giving me a chance,” O’Connell said.

O’Connell was planning on giving the European professional circuit a try before winning the Mid-Am, but he couldn’t pass up the exemptions to the Masters and U.S. Open and the chance to compete at two of golf’s shrines – Augusta National and Pebble Beach.

“It’s a dream come true, not just for Mid-Amateurs but for any amateur that gets to play at Augusta National, built by the greatest amateur of all time,” O’Connell said. “It’s the stuff of dreams.”

O’Connell embraced the entire Augusta experience, including having his wife Michelle on his bag for the Par-3 Contest.

“We’ll have those pictures forever, it was fantastic,” O’Connell said.

Jovan Rebula, the junior at Auburn and nephew of Ernie Els, shot 79 and missed the cut.

Rebula said he had three bad holes in the tournament – taking double bogeys on Nos. 11, No. 12 and No. 14 on Friday.

“It’s the small things I need to clean up a little bit,” Rebula said. “The biggest thing I can take away is I can compete with these guys, although it didn’t show. I didn’t have my best stuff and I was scrambling a little bit too much … It’s been fun and I enjoyed it, and it’s really been an eye opener for sure.”