Angel Cabrera's first trip to the Masters was a short one.

The stocky pro from Argentina missed the cut last year with rounds of 74 and 76, but his return trip is a different matter. With rounds of 66 and 71, Cabrera finds himself near the top of a star-studded leaderboard.

``It was a difficult day. It was hard work, but the objective, finally, was not to lose the day and let ground get away from me,'' Cabrera said through an interpreter, Dave McIntosh. ``I finished with a birdie at the last hole. I feel satisfied with the day.''

Cabrera's roller-coaster round featured five birdies and four bogeys. The highlight was a near ace on the par-3 sixth that was part of four consecutive birdies on the front nine.

The low point came on the par-5 13th, when Cabrera hooked his drive and lost the ball. After teeing up again, he hit a 6-iron onto the green and two-putted to salvage bogey.

Confidence in his game and familiarity with Augusta National are the main reasons for Cabrera's success this year.

``Last year I came in not playing particularly well,'' said Cabrera, 31. ``In fact, I was hitting the ball badly. This year, I came in playing well.''

After tying for 26th at The Players Championship two weeks ago, Cabrera won the Argentinian Open last week on the European Tour. He put together four rounds in the 60s for his third career victory.

``I come in feeling better, playing better, and plus I now know the golf course,'' he said. ``It makes it easier to come in here and play when you know what you are going to play and are playing well.''

Cabrera grew up in Cordoba, about 300 miles north of Buenos Aires. He started his career in golf as a caddie, playing in many tournaments before deciding to turn pro at age 20.

Fellow pro and countryman Eduardo Romero was a big influence on his career, even financially backing him in 1995 after Cabrera had failed three times to get his European Tour card.

Cabrera and Romero teamed at last year's World Cup, played in Argentina and finished second to the American team of Tiger Woods and David Duval. The experience gave him confidence that he could compete against the best in the world.

``That helped, because just to be near Tiger and to play with Tiger, against Tiger, and to be competitive with Tiger, is something very important,'' he said. ``You learn from it.''

The 6-foot, 210-pound Cabrera, who says he inherited his stocky build, showed off his Tiger-like length with the driver Friday.

On the 435-yard fifth hole, he hit a drive about 330 yards and hit a pitching wedge to set up a birdie. On the 18th hole, 405 yards uphill, he had only 90 yards left for his approach. He hit a lob wedge to five feet and made that for a birdie.

``Mostly all of my family are big, solid men,'' he said. ``I haven't done anything special to build the physique.''