U.S. Open champion Steve Jones hadn't played in the Masters in six years. He had forgotten how hard Augusta National can be.

``I got to admit it's pretty tough,'' a chastened Jones said Friday after he added a 6-over-par 78 to go with his opening round of 82, not good enough to make the cut.

``I prepared wrong,'' Jones said. ``I needed to work harder on my irons. I forgot how you have to hit the ball to certain spots. It's 70 percent of the game. You can't afford to miss it in the wrong spot.''

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THE GOLDEN BEAR ON THE KING: Jack Nicklaus said Arnold Palmer's problems this year stem from his battle with cancer, and there's no doubt he will be back.

``The guy's always been a fighter and always will be,'' Nicklaus said. ``He'll probably be playing this game long after any of us are still here. He'll probably be playing the Masters in the year 3000.''

Nicklaus played a practice round with Palmer and ``he really ran out of gas coming up those last four or five holes.''

``I think most people were just happy to see Arnold here happy, healthy and playing,'' he said. ``He expects more of himself, so I think he was disappointed.''

Palmer shot 89 and 87.

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A KINDER AUGUSTA NATIONAL: Tom Watson said somebody on the Augusta National Golf Club rules committee must have had a change of heart after the diabolical pin placements on Thursday.

``There were no ER (emergency room) pins out there today,'' said Watson, who shot a 4-under-par 68 for a 143 total. ``The course had much saner pins. The first six holes yesterday had four bad pins.''

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MILLER TIME: Amateur John (Spiderman) Miller finished his dream 36 holes and failed to make the cut. But he made a friend in playing partner Billy Casper.

Casper laughed as he came off the 18th green.

``He's good company that guy. I don't know who he is, but he's good company,'' Casper said.

Miller is the U.S. amateur Mid-South champion who shot 82-81 for 163 and sells beer for a living.

``I played bad, but that's the way it goes,'' Miller said. ``What can I say? I had a lot of fun. It was great time.''

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SPIKE MARK ERASERS: Men in rubber-soled shoes walked the greens in the afternoon and tamped down spike marks after players had holed out.

Colin Montgomerie loved it.

``They were walking around the cup and on the greens after we putted out,'' Montgomerie said. ``It was a good idea. Why should players in the afternoon get punished by all the spike marks?''

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DIVOTS: International golf officials converge at the Masters each year. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews heads the list with 14 representatives including captain T. Harvey Douglas. ... Counterfeit Masters tickets surfaced Friday, and officials labeled it a ``serious problem.'' Organizers said admission would be denied to anyone trying to use tickets that were stolen, lost, counterfeit or purchased in the secondary market. ... Faces in the crowd included Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer and personnel director Larry Lacewell. ... Mark Brooks, the PGA champion, joined Jones on the sidelines, shooting 77-82 for a 159 total and an exit down Magnolia Lane. Of course, defending Masters champion Nick Faldo was the big casualty, shooting a final round 81 to go out at 156.