As Patrick Reed and Marc Leishman took centre stage in the Masters on Friday, Tiger Woods had to battle to make the cut at four over.
Reed compiled a stunning 66 in the second round to lead by two on nine under, with Leishman – a playing partner of Woods on the first two days – his nearest rival at the halfway stage.
Every other player in the field had at least four strokes to make up on Reed, while Woods ended the day a whopping 13 shots off the pace.
After grinding his way to a one-over 73 on Thursday, Woods shot 75 in his second round, birdies on the 13th and 15th representing the only highlights for the former world number one.
A four-time Masters champion making his first appearance at Augusta since 2015, Woods was in danger of missing the weekend when he followed a dropped shot at the first with a shambolic double-bogey on the fifth.
He went on to find water at the 12th for the second day in succession, another bogey dropping him back to five over, but his subsequent gains meant he could afford to give up a shot on 16 and still make the cut.
While Woods will play on Saturday and Sunday, Sergio Garcia's title defence came to an end as he followed up a first-round 81, which featured a staggering 13 on the 15th hole, with a 78 to be 15 over.
Danny Willett, the winner two years ago, Alex Noren, Thomas Pieters and Charl Schwartzel were among the other notable names to miss out, while Phil Mickelson sneaked in on plus five.
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