Tom Scherrer , the 1992 U.S. Amateur runner-up, shot a second straight 1-under-par 71 on Friday to make the cut in his first Masters appearance.

Scherrer had an invitation to play the Masters in 1993, but decided to forego his amateur status and turn pro.

``I'm very pleased,'' Scherrer said. ``I would have taken 2-under two days ago. I left a few (shots) out there today and yesterday, so I'm a little disappointed with that. But I've got two days ahead of me, and I think I can sneak up there a little bit.''

Scherrer decided to play in a tournament in Shreveport, La., on Masters Week of '93. He had to pay for his range balls and didn't make it out of Monday qualifying.

``I was about to drive back to Orlando thinking, `I could have been in Augusta right now,''' he said. ``But I had a friend with me and we had a good laugh. It's a lot funnier now than it was eight years ago.''

IN THE HUNT: Mark Calcavecchia shot a 6-under 66 Friday, tying for the low score of the day.

Calcavecchia's best finish at the Masters came in 1988, when he placed second behind Sandy Lyle. At 6-under par for 36 holes, the former British Open champion is tied for ninth.

He made two birdies on the front nine for a 2-under 34, then made five birdies on the back nine. His lone bogey came on No. 15, where he found the water.

Calcavecchia, who missed last year's Masters to end a streak of 13 straight appearances, was glad to be back.

``I definitely wanted to get back here,'' he said. ``Last year I took the kids skiing in Sun Valley, but I missed being here.''

Ernie Els, who finished second last year, also put himself into contention Friday with a 4-under-par 68. He trails leader Chris DiMarco by five shots heading into the weekend.

The South African blistered the front nine, making birdies on Nos. 2, 4, 7 and 9. But he didn't capitalize on the back nine, shooting even par with one birdie and one bogey.

PUGA'S PLIGHT: Greg Puga , the 2000 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, will savor his Masters memories from this week. Puga, a caddie at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, shot 76-80 to miss the cut.

``On Wednesday, I was walking to the range before my practice round and on my way there I was signing autographs,'' he said. ``I approached Arnold (Palmer) and he was looking at me with his hands on his hips. He looked kind of mad. He said to me, `You need to fix that.' He was pointing downward. I looked down and my fly was open. So I embarrassed myself twice this week - an 8 on No. 11 and my fly was open.''

BROOKS' LAST STAND: Mark Brooks is in the last year of his five-year Masters exemption for winning the 1996 PGA Championship. Making his 11th Masters appearance, Brooks fired a second-round 71 and stands at 3-under for the tournament.

Brooks has some work to do if he wants an invitation to next year's Masters. Sitting at 168th on the PGA Tour's money list, Brooks' best route to qualify would be a top-16 finish. His best Augusta finish is a tie for 35th.

``I'm happy to make the cut,'' Brooks said. ``I never play well here. Generally speaking, the long bombers play well here. You need to hit the ball high here. I don't do that. I need the fairways to be faster to play well.''

NICE ADVICE: After an opening-round 73, Brad Faxon played himself back into the tournament with a 68. The difference between the two days was just a matter of focus.

``I followed the Bobby Rotella motto ... `Let's keep playing one good shot in a row.''' he said. ``Yesterday, I was all over the place. I wasn't concentrating one shot at a time. But I worked on it after the round.''

NORMAN'S NOSE DIVE: After an opening-round 71, Greg Norman came back with an 82 in Friday's round. Norman had played well at the Bay Hill Invitational three weeks ago, tying for fourth. Last week, he finished 27th in the BellSouth Classic.

``Everything was wrong,'' he said. ``You've got to take it and move on. I didn't sense that this was coming.''

HOW TIMES CHANGE: Known for his booming drives earlier in his career, Fred Couples is struggling to keep up with the next generation of golfers.

``I smashed a few (drives) today,'' said Couples, who barely made the cut at 1-over-par 145. ``I played with this young kid from Clemson (D.J. Trahan) . I tried to keep up with them. I did on a few. All these young kids hit it so far these days.''

COODY'S CONQUEST: Charles Coody , the 1971 Masters champion, missed a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 18 which would have given him an under-par round. He settled for a 72 in the second round after the 63-year-old shot an 80 in the first round.

One of the reasons for his turnaround was his putting. After taking 38 putts Thursday, he needed 32 Friday.

``I feel like I left some shots out there,'' Coody said. ``I'm much more pleased with 72 than I was with 80.

WITHDREW: Due to illness, Gay Brewer withdrew from the Masters before the start of the second round. Brewer shot an opening-round 84.