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THE MASTERS

At Augusta (Ga.) National Golf Club Par 72, 7,475 yards

Second of four rounds

Justin Rose .................... 65-72—137

Will Zalatoris .................. 70-68—138

Brian Harman ................. 69-69—138

Marc Leishman .............. 72-67—138

Jordan Spieth ................. 71-68—138

Spanish flavor

When Jose Maria Olazabal walked into the interview area, the Spanish media members let out a cheer.

“It’s like winning the event,” the 55-year-old Spaniard said, breaking into a big smile.

In a way, the second round of the Masters did feel like a victory for the two-time Masters champion.

Olazabal shot a 1-under 71 to match his best Augusta National round of the past 15 years and make the cut for the first time since 2014.

The slick greens were a perfect set-up for Olazabal, who knows he can’t match the young guys with the length of his shots. He made up for that shortfall with his knowledge of the course and his touch on the greens.

“It’s lovely to see Augusta play like we have the last two days — fast and firm,” Olazabal said. “It reminds me a lot of the late ’80s and ’90s.”

Those were the glory days for Olazabal, who won his first green jacket in 1994, added another title in 1999 and was a top-10 finisher five other times.

But he hasn’t contended since a tie for third in 2006. In his last 12 appearances, Olazabal missed the cut nine times and didn’t finish higher than 34th the other years.

A huge par save at the 17th, where he knocked in a 40-footer from the fringe after a poor chip, gave him hope of a better finish this year.

Amateur update

No amateurs are playing the weekend at the Masters.

Ollie Osborne was the low amateur, his score of 8-over 152 beating Joe Long (154) and Tyler Strafaci (161).

“One of the main things I learned is not everybody’s perfect,” Osborne said. “I played with the world’s best, and you don’t have to do everything perfect. You just kind of go about your game and do your thing. These guys are obviously really good, but I’m not that far off.”

It’s the first time since 2015 that no amateur made the cut. But there were plenty of memories — such as staying in the Crow’s Nest atop the Augusta National clubhouse, and getting to play 36 holes in arguably the most storied tournament in the world.

“Some bits of advice from the world’s best golfers, that kind of sticks with me,” Long said. “The amateur dinner, like that experience is just so special. The Crow’s Nest, all those things, they’re memories for life. At the end of the day, you can tell your family about it, and that’s pretty amazing.”

Penalty on Ancer

Abraham Ancer was tied for 21st through two rounds at even-par 144.

He has taken only 142 swings.

Ancer was hit with a two-stroke penalty well after his opening round ended after it was determined that his club touched the sand before his bunker shot on the par5 15th hole. Ancer signed for a bogey 6, before it was changed to a triple-bogey 8 after rules officials decided he signed for the incorrect score inadvertently.

“I’ve never experienced anything like that,” Ancer said. “I was already at the house I rented here. We were about to have dinner. We were grilling out, and I got a call from Augusta National telling me that they wanted to show me a video on my bunker shot on 15. Obviously, I had no idea what it was about.

“Then, well, they notified me they were going to give me a two-stroke penalty for touching the sand,” he said. “Obviously, I was pretty amazed because I had no idea that had happened. You needed a really good camera with some good zoom to be able to see that I touched the sand.”

He shot a 3-under 69 on Friday.

“It was pretty minimal, but I can’t complain,” Ancer said. “I was holding the club, so I’m the only one liable for that. You’ve got to move on and make some birdies.”

Eagle watch

Cameron Smith and Hideki Matsuyama are the only players with multiple eagles this week.

They each had one Thursday, then repeated the feat Friday. Both made a 3 on the par-5 13th in the second round.

Smith eagled the 15th on Thursday. Matsuyama’s firstround eagle came at No. 8.

Reed at 16

Patrick Reed, by his standards, did terribly at the par-3 16th hole on Friday. He made par.

Reed had made six consecutive birdies at the 16th before Friday, a run that started in the final round of the 2019 Masters.