Adam Scott admits he will need the round of his life on Saturday at the Masters to salvage any hope of entering the final day with a chance.
Scott stiffed his approach and tapped in for a birdie at the 18th hole to post a one-over-par 73 in the second round at Augusta National.
At four over, the 2013 Masters winner crept one shot inside the cut line and narrowly avoided an early exit from the year's first major.
"I didn't hit the best shot into the last and it managed to dribble back down the hill and finished stiff for a birdie to make the cut," Scott said on Friday.
The 37-year-old Scott sits 13 shots adrift of halfway leader Patrick Reed, who fired a stunning 66 to take a nine under total and a two-shot lead over Scott's countryman Marc Leishman (67).
Scott's lowest round at Augusta in 16 previous Masters appearances is a 66.
But the Queenslander concedes it will be difficult to repeat that effort from the 2012 edition with rain, thunder and winds forecast for moving day.
"If there are nice conditions (I'll attack), sure, but the forecast doesn't look great," Scott said.
However, Scott will be among the early groups on Saturday morning and hopes to post a low round before the weather is tipped to get particularly ugly in the afternoon.
"A really good round, teeing off early, could go a long, long way with some pretty strong winds predicted," Scott said.
"Somehow if I can squeak back to even par, you never know I might be in with a hope on Sunday."
Also struggling to threaten the leaderboard was Scott's countryman Jason Day, who battled his way back with a 71 to be two over.
