Ninety-two-year-old Texan Byron Nelson (Stats | Bio) , sitting on a chair inside the ropes at the first tee at Augusta National Golf Club on Friday, offered a greeting and a few words of encouragement to Lian-Wei Zhang (Stats | Bio) , the first Chinese golfer to play in the Masters Tournament.

"Mr. Nelson said, 'I'm here to watch your swing,' " Zhang said through his interpreter.

Americans will get more chances to see Zhang, who said his first tournament on U.S. soil won't be his last.

Zhang has received invitations to play in the Fed Ex St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn., on May 27-30 and in Jack Nicklaus (Stats | Bio) ' Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, on June 3-6.

Zhang missed the cut - barely - carding 72 on Friday for a total of 5-over 149, one stroke away from playing this weekend.

"It was my dream to play here and now it's my job to conquer the course in the future," said Zhang.

Zhang made a charge around Amen Corner, birdieing No. 12 and getting an eagle on the par-5 13th, but his 33 on the back nine couldn't make up for a first-round in which he shot a pair of double bogeys on the way to 77.

Zhang did not know what the cut line was as he played the back nine.

"I was disappointed that I couldn't make up the difference from yesterday," Zhang said.

Zhang, who turns 39 next month, trained as a javelin thrower during the Cultural Revolution when golf was banned, but learned the game while serving as a caddie in the late 1980s.

Zhang was the first Chinese player to win on the European PGA Tour when he edged Ernie Els (Stats | Bio) by a stroke in the 2003 Singapore Masters. The Masters offered him a special invitation March 17.

"We felt that it was good for the game of golf to extend a hand to the most populous nation in the world," said Augusta National and tournament chairman Hootie Johnson.

Zhang knows that many in the communist country of 1.3 billion were keeping tabs on him this week, just like they follow the Houston Rockets' Yao Ming. Zhang flew to Houston before coming to Augusta because he wanted to meet with Yao.

"The people back home in China, especially the kids, can learn from my experience," Zhang said, "and hopefully in the future more people from China can come to the Masters and play."