Aussie hopes were riding high on the back of Cam Smith’s explosive start on Thursday but the world No.6 struggled to convert birdie opportunities in Round 2, his first not coming until the par-5 15th following four earlier bogeys.

A closing birdie at the par-4 18th saw Smith post 74 and tied for sixth through 36 holes, six shots back of runaway leader Scottie Scheffler (67).

Scheffler is five clear of his nearest challengers, all of whom bring major championship experience. Former Masters champions Hideki Matsuyama (69) and Charl Schwartzel (69), 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry (68) and 2020 Masters runner-up Sungjae Im (74) are locked together at three-under, one clear of Smith, Harold Varner III (71), Dustin Johnson (73) and Kevin Na (71).

Masters debutants Min Woo Lee and Cam Davis can hold their heads high after qualifying for the weekend, both needing to play some superb golf on the back nine in order to do so.

Hopefully it is a portent of more to come over the closing six holes.

Cameron Smith – 74, T6 (-2)
One of the pre-tournament favourites had a difficult day on the greens yet clawed his way back into contention with two late birdies. The 28-year-old shot two-over 74 on Friday but at two-over for the championship is tied for sixth, albeit six shots back of runaway leader Scottie Scheffler. Smith failed to get up and down from the front of the first green to drop a shot early and an uncharacteristically poor chip from the right of the green led to a second bogey at the par-3 fourth. Despite a tee shot of 352 yards THE PLAYERS champion dropped another shot at nine when his approach shot flew the green and he was unable to save his par and a three-putt from 14 feet at 12 led to a fourth bogey to drop back to even par. He scrapped a par after finding the penalty area left of the 13th fairway and then produced his first birdie of the day at the par-5 15th, hitting his approach from 111 yards to three feet and a much-needed surge of momentum. Smith had good looks at 16 and 17 but it was at 18 where he made his second birdie from just five feet to get back to two-under and remain inside the top 10 heading into the third round.
Key stat: 308 yards average driving distance (field 288 yards)
What he said: “Pretty brutal day out there today. Lots of quality golf shots that go to 40, 50 feet, and it gets quite frustrating at times. Just hung in there and made a few nice swings in there. Good for a couple of birdies. I feel as though I hit lots of really quality shots into the green and just really didn’t have any birdie opportunities. It was so windy and gusty out there, quite hard to get the speed on the greens as well. Two-over in the end; probably wasn’t the worst.”

Adam Scott – 75, T46 (+4)
The 2013 champion played his way inside the top 20 and within reach of the lead before an unfortunate triple bogey at the par-5 15th. Following a 74 on day one Scott dropped a shot at the first but then ripped driver 344 yards down the centre of the second fairway, hitting his approach from 231 yards to eight feet for a timely eagle. A birdie putt from 18 at seven got Scott back to even par for the championship and within three of the lead. A three-putt from the front of the 10th green was a blip that paled in comparison to what would follow at 15. Blocked out by his tee shot that finished on the left side of the fairway, Scott punched out down to 90 yards from the green. His pitch shot landed in the middle of the green before spinning back into the water, three-putting from the back fringe on the repeat effort. A birdie at 16 was offset by a bogey at 17 and it took a sand save from the right of the 18th green to squeeze inside the cut-line.
Key stat: 71 per cent fairways hit (field 72 per cent)
What he said: “I like where my game’s at. It was a tough day out there today. It was really tough on the greens, and I missed a couple putts, but I also made a lot of putts too, which is good news. If I can just kind of keep a big number off the card over the weekend, I think I can have two solid days. I’d be surprised if I can get myself right up there. He’s a long way away from me at the moment, but you just never know around here. Eleven holes ago, I was three off the lead, so it can turn around quick.”

Min Woo Lee – 75, T46 (+4)
The 23-year-old had to play his final four holes in one-over to make the cut in his first Masters appearance, but didn’t even know it. Five-over for the tournament through 14 holes, Lee produced a sublime up-and-down from the back of the 15th green to stay one back of the cut-line. A birdie from 13 feet at 16 got Lee back to four-over but he was forced to chip out after missing the fairway left at 17, getting up and down from 75 yards to once again save par. He produced one of his best drives of the day down 18 and when his birdie try from 21 feet came up six inches short in the jaws tapped in give his mother and father two more rounds to watch in person.
Key stat: 79 per cent fairways hit (field 72 per cent)
He said: “My dad runs a cafe back home, and he left on Monday to get here. I didn’t want to just play two days for him. It was for the family and for my team, I guess. Regarding the cut, I didn’t realise… I thought there was a 10-shot rule cut-thing still. Before 15, I was like, Oh, I’m actually not too bad. I’ve still got a few shots to give. Now that I know it was just top 50 and cut, I’ve got to give myself a pat on the back because that was a really good finish. Getting into the tournament’s a good achievement, but to actually play well, it’s another step. I knew I had to keep my head down. I’m glad some of my best golf has come now.”

Cam Davis – 73, T46 (+4)
With five bogeys and a double bogey at the par-4 fourth the New South Welshman’s hopes of playing the weekend looked remote until a late birdie barrage squeezed him inside the cut line. Eight-over for the championship, Davis began his impressive back nine run with a two-putt birdie from 72 feet at the par-5 13th. He backed that up with a birdie from 22 feet at the par-4 14th and then hit it his tee shot at the par-3 16th to seven feet to get back to five-over. Needing birdie at the last, the 27-year-old blasted a tee shot 303 yards down the centre and hit his approach from 135 yards to 14 feet, curling the putt in with a celebratory fist pump to make the cut in his Masters debut.
Key stat: 79 per cent fairways hit (field 73 per cent)

Marc Leishman – 75, T46 (+4)
Frustrated by greens that have yielded just two birdies in his first 36 holes, Leishman’s lone birdie on day two didn’t even require getting the putter out of the bag. Unable to make his par putt from nine feet after missing the green right at the par-4 third, Leishman produced some short-game wizardry to make three at the par-4 seventh. His tee shot found the pine straw right, his punch out finished long and left and then Leishman delivered a perfectly lofted pitch from 26 yards to get the Augusta gallery roaring. He dropped a shot at 10 and then suffered at the hands of Augusta’s slick putting surfaces at the par-5 15th. Leishman’s approach shot from 222 yards landed on the green and appeared to come to a stop, slowly tipping on its axis and trickling back into the water fronting the green as he made his third of four bogeys in the second round.
Key stat: 71 per cent of fairways hit (field 73 per cent)
What he said: “Putting’s difficult. I mean, everything’s difficult, to be honest. It was just a frustrating day for me. I played really well. I don’t know what the longest putt I made was but couldn’t have been longer than three feet. I feel like I’m putting good, but it’s been two days of holing nothing. So disappointed, but hopefully I can get it rolling on the weekend. I’ve played well enough to make it to the weekend. Hopefully I can do something silly on the weekend and shoot a couple of real low ones and see what happens.”

Lucas Herbert – 76, T60 (+6)
Made a putt from eight feet for a scrappy bogey to start his round but earned it straight back by getting up-and-down from the bunker short of the par-5 second, Herbert going five-for-five in sand saves for his two rounds. The putting gods took one back when Herbert suffered a wicked horse shoe as he made double bogey at the par-4 third with bogeys at four and five dropping him beneath the cut-line. His tee shot at 10 went left into the trees as he dropped another shot yet he kept his weekend hopes alive with birdies at both 13 and 15 to get back to five-over, those hopes dashed one hole later with a three-putt from the fringe at 16.
Key stat: 100 per cent sand saves (field 42 per cent)