Ken Green couldn't make many shots the past few days, but he apparently wasn't going to leave the Augusta National Golf Club without making some kind of noise.

For the 38-year-old Green, who lost his PGA Tour card last year and is currently taking the prescription medication Zoloft to treat a chemical imbalance that causes depression, it was another series of antics that stirred things up a bit during and after his second round at the 61st Masters Tournament on Friday morning.

Green, who played with Arnold Palmer in Friday's first group, accepted a beer from a friend in the gallery along the 15th fairway, and he promptly used it to toast his legendary playing partner.

``I always wanted to have a beer with Arnie on the golf course,'' Green said before drinking from the cup.

``Why didn't you bring me one?'' joked Palmer, who did not drink from Green's cup.

One of the most frequently fined players on the PGA Tour because of his temper and language on the course, Green may be in hot water again. Tour rules prohibit players from consuming alcoholic beverages during play. But the incident Friday may not affect his standing, because the Masters is not an official tour event, and Green does not hold a tour card.

But it was Green's post-round antics that truly threw many for a loop. Especially 1976 Masters champion Raymond Floyd.

The escapade came moments after Green finished with a respectable 2-over-par 74. Still, it wasn't close to being enough to make the cut following Thursday's first-round debacle, when he carded a 15-over-par 87. Green was asked by a reporter to compare Palmer to other golf legends he had played with.

For Green - always willing to share his less-than-complimentary views on Augusta National - the comments pertained to 1987 at Doral, when he was paired for a round with Floyd and former PGA Tour pro Bobby Boyd. Green said Boyd told him that Floyd took an illegal drop.

``He's a dirt ball and a cheater, ask Bob Boyd, he can verify this,'' said Green, who made the Masters field for the first time since 1991, with a tie for seventh place at last year's U.S. Open.

The 54-year-old Floyd, who earlier this week was honored by the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame with a statue bearing his likeness on Augusta's Riverwalk, was noticeably upset when a reporter asked him to respond to the accusation.

``Who said that?'' Floyd asked the reporter, after he also missed the cut for the seventh time in 33 Masters appearances, with a second-round 75 that put him at 10-over-par for the tournament.

``Ken Green? I'm not gonna have any comment on that, that's the first I've heard of it, so let's leave that one alone. Where did he come back with that one, from 10 years ago? I think I would prefer not to say anything.''

Boyd, who runs a golf course management company in his hometown of Wilmington, N.C., says he remains in touch with Green, and was surprised to hear of his comments. Although he did confirm the threesome had played at Doral, he could not verify that it was in 1987.

``I do remember (Doral), but I'd just rather not comment on that,'' Boyd said via a telephone interview Friday afternoon.

After the spontaneous outburst, Green had nothing but kind words for Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

``Arnie was great out there,'' Green said. ``I don't think I'm ever gonna receive the standing ovations he received throughout the day. I thought a couple of them were for me, then Arnie told me they weren't. It was certainly an unusual pairing, wasn't it?''

Later, he called Nicklaus ``One of the great minds of the game.''

What follows now for Green is more uncertainty.

The Danbury, Conn., native, who now lives in West Palm Beach, Fla., did not receive the sponsor's exemption he requested to play at Hilton Head next week. His only confirmed entry is at Greensboro later this month.

``I'm starting to really learn that nobody likes me out here,'' Green said. ``I'm gonna have to get back on tour my way, I guess.''