A cut above the rest

It was Jeev8217;s third cut in as many starts at a Major 8212; the previous two having been at the US Open in 2002 and 2006. 8220;It8217;s a great feeling. I came here to enjoy the tournament that I have dreamt about since childhood. The key has been patience and I kept telling myself to stick to the routine and process,8221; said Jeev.

On the challenging Augusta National, the cut came at eight-over 152, which was 10 off the lead. Tiger Woods 147 at one stage was in danger of missing the cut, as was defending champion, Phil Mickelson 149, but both hung in there to make the weekend.

The lead was held by first-timer Brett Wetterich 73 who also had a share of the first round lead. He was in the company of Tim Clark 71, playing his sixth Masters but looking for his first title.

Jeev started with a bogey and had three bogeys and two birdies on the front nine for a 37, which given the other scores did not look bad at all.

But misses on small putts and a couple of bad breaks meant he dropped shots on tenth, 14th and 16th at which point he was four-over and then he found himself facing a difficult shot out of the bunker on the par-4 17th.

Jeev played an intelligent shot above the hole and then rolled in a tough 12-footer for par. Buoyed by that, he bombed his driver down the fairway on the 18th and followed up with a 9-iron to come within 12 feet for a closing birdie. He nailed it and suddenly he was only three-over for the tournament.