With his putter playing up, Adam Scott says he will channel good vibes from his 2013 Masters victory to win the coveted green jacket for a second time.
The 36-year-old clawed his way back into contention with a gutsy three-under-par 69 during another windy day at Augusta National on Friday (Saturday AEST).
At even par, world No.9 Scott is the leading Australian in a tie for 10th.
He is just four behind a four-way tie for the lead shared by Charley Hoffman (75), world No.8 Rickie Fowler (67), Spanish stalwart Sergio Garcia (69) and Belgian young gun Thomas Pieters (68), all at four under.
American William McGirt (73) is fifth at two-under, while Olympic gold medallist Justin Rose shares sixth with young Spanish star Jon Rahm (70), Ryan Moore (69) and 1992 green jacket winner Fred Couples (70) at one-under.
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Scott showed signs of his usual ball-striking brilliance, defying strong gusts to hit 14 of 18 greens, but a series of missed putts from inside six feet cruelled his chances at rocketing further up the leaderboard.
The Queenslander says he'll draw inspiration from his form on the greens when he ended Australia's 77-year hoodoo at Augusta four years ago.
"When I won in 2013, I don't think I missed a putt inside six feet for the week and I'm going to have to kind of have that weekend here, if I really want to win," said Scott.
"Today was a really good day; I started 10 back and I'm now in position.
"If I get the putter going, grab a couple birdies early, I'll feed off a bit of crowd momentum and it will be a fun day."
At three-over, Marc Leishman (73, 74) was next best of the Australians.
But after sparring with Augusta for the first two rounds of the Masters, Leishman is hoping to land a leaderboard haymaker on day three.
The 33-year-old Australian adopted a conservative game plan to counter brutal winds, making the weekend at the Masters for the first time since 2013.
But Leishman now sees a green light for a similar style of aggressive golf that has seen him bag a recent US PGA Tour victory and seven top-25s leading into the year's first major.
"I'll definitely try to make more birdies (on Saturday) as the conditions are supposed to be more benign," said Leishman.
World No.3 Jason Day dropped out of contention courtesy of disappointing 76 and his six-over total made the cut on the number.
In a tie for 45th, Day was joined by fellow Australian and amateur world No.1 Curtis Luck after the Perth 20-year-old showed great fighting spirit with a gutsy even-par 72.
Rod Pampling was another to struggle on day two, carding a 78 to drop to eight-over to miss the weekend.
