GARCIA BACK IN THE HUNT: "The best player to never win a major," the phrase that has followed Sergio Garcia for the better part of this decade, stood little chance of being swept away at this year's Masters Tournament after the Spaniard opened with 73 on Thursday.

Garcia rebounded with 5-under 67 on Friday to move into a tie for sixth with four others. Only Anthony Kim (65) had a better second round.

Garcia, who had missed the cut twice in a row, birdied three of the final four holes in the second round. He has finished better than 28th just twice in 10 attempts.

"It's been a long time coming, I guess," he said. "I thought I was going to have a hard time making the cut, and all of a sudden I shoot a good round and it puts you in a good position."

CHAMPS HURTING: The past two Masters winners haven't had strong weeks: One has been cut, and the other nearly followed.

Defending champ Trevor Immelman rallied with a final-nine 35 to make the cut right on the number: 1-over. He shot 74 on Friday, which included three birdies on the final nine holes. In a round similar to Thursday's 71 (38-33), he bogeyed three holes on the first nine.

"Once again, I'm proud of myself for hanging together on the back nine," he said. "I hit some beautiful shots."

Immelman is one of seven former champions to make the cut.

Zach Johnson , the 2007 champion, shot 80 on Friday, his worst round here since his 2005 debut, when he shot 81 in the first round and missed the cut. Johnson noted his allergies but said that wasn't the reason for his poor play.

"So congested it's hard to keep my eyes open," said Johnson, who tied for 20th last year defending his title. "I hit it bad, and putted it bad."

PAR-5 CONQUEROR: Tim Clark , who had fallen to even-par for the tournament on No. 12 on Friday, worked all the way back to 5-under by playing the two par-5s on the final nine at 3-under.

He eagled No. 13 by hitting a 3-iron from 218 yards about a foot away from the pin.

"An eagle on 13 is a big bonus," said Clark, the runner-up to Phil Mickelson in the 2006 Masters. "I was able to go for both par-5s, and that made quite a difference."

Clark is not an especially long hitter, and he ranked 74th in driving distance through Friday.

JUST LIKE WINNING: Former University of Georgia All-American Ryuji Imada got up and down from the sand trap on No. 18 to save par and make the cut in his first Masters appearance.

Imada shot even-par 72 to finish at 1-over, which was the cut line.

The shot on the 18th "was almost like trying to win the golf tournament ... it was a real thrill for me," he said.

NICE ANGLE: Rory Sabbatini moved into contention with 67 on Friday, aided by a chip-in eagle on the par-5 No. 2. He is at 4-under and five shots off the lead.

He said the key to that hole was a 3-wood he blasted down "as far right as I could down right of the bunkers."

The position, Sabbatini said, gave him a nice angle to attack the back-left pin. It was one of only four eagles on No. 2 through two days.

ANGEL FINISHES STRONG: Angel Cabrera , the 2007 U.S. Open champion, moved into a tie for second place when he birdied No. 18 on Friday to secure back-to-back 68s. He will play in the next-to-last group today with Todd Hamilton .

Cabrera has finished the tournament under par just once in his past six tries.

"I'm very confident with my swing and with my putting strokes," he said.

OGILVY CONFIDENT: Geoff Ogilvy , the fourth-ranked player in the world, thinks he is capable of shooting a low round to jump back into contention.

One day after missing every other green in regulation, Ogilvy hit 14 of 18 in his second round on his way to 70. He is 3-under for the tournament.

"If I get off to a good start (today), 3-under is a pretty good point at halfway," he said. "This is the sort of course that if you get it going and have a good day, you can make up a lot of shots."

TIED WITH TIGER: Asked to explain his five consecutive birdies on the final nine, 51-year-old Sandy Lyle shrugged.

"Not really too sure myself right now," said the 1988 Masters champion, who started his birdie run on No. 13.

Only a bogey at No. 18 kept Lyle from breaking 70 for the first time since 1992. Lyle is 2-under -- tied with Tiger Woods -- and will play the weekend for the third consecutive year.

"I didn't really anticipate to finish the way I did," he said. "That was just a bonus, just go for the ride."

Lyle has never finished better than 21st since his victory but is tied for 19th entering the third round.

INTO THE WATER: Swirling winds at the par-3 12th caused all three players in one group to hit their tee shot into the water.

Rocco Mediate , Fred Couples and amateur Jack Newman all hit well short of the green and into the water.

The hole's senior scorer said that was the first time he had seen that happen in his 18 years at the hole.

WE'RE STILL HERE: Justin Rose's second shot into the par-5 No. 2 trickled onto the green as Bernhard Langer , in the group ahead, was lining up a par-saving putt.

Greg Norman , who, along with Lee Westwood, was playing with Langer, held his hand high, signaling that his group was still finishing.

After the group had teed off on No. 3, Rose tried to explain himself as he walked toward the second green.

"I was trying to hit down here," he yelled at the group, pointing to a popular landing area just below the hole on the right-hand side of the fairway.

Rose ended up three-putting for par.