<image="1" align="left" />
Gun amateur Curtis Luck is hanging around for the weekend at Augusta National.
His task now is to chase down American Stewart Hagestad, who is the leading amateur at three-over par.
They are the only amateurs to be playing this weekend.
He did it brilliantly today, going out with nine straight pars and then picking up birdies at the 10th (from seven metres), the par-five 13th hole (from just beyond a metre) and the 15th (again from close range after a nice wedge shot).
"I wasn't quite as nervous today after having a round under my belt yesterday,'' he said. "It was very exciting out there, plenty of crowd, a lot of support from heaps of Aussies. I enjoyed it to the very last putt on 18.
"Making the cut feels awesome. I can't wait to play Saturday-Sunday. There's a lot less pressure on me now that I've done that. I'm looking forward to going out there and go at a few more flags tomorrow and the next day.''
Luck earned his place in the field as the US amateur champion from last year, and effectively qualified twice because he also won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.
He intends turning professional after this week — turning down his guaranteed spot in the 2017 Open Championship — and will tee it up as a professional on the US PGA Tour in the Texas Open later this month.