On A Heater: Mccarty's 8 Birdies In 12-hole Span Leaves Masters Rookie In The Mix Entering Weekend

When PGA Tour rookie Matt McCarty knocked his tee shot on the 180-yard, par-3 sixth hole at the Masters to within 8 feet to set up his first birdie and then sank a bending 28-foot putt for another on the par-4 seventh, his mother knew exactly what was coming next.

She could tell just by her son's strut he was about to go on a heater.

"He tends to do that," Deanna McCarty said. "He gets in kind of a rhythm, and you can just see it in his walk. You can see it in how he carries himself. He did it in college, and he did it on the Korn Ferry Tour, where he just gets hot. He just gets super focused and locked in."

Five holes into the second round on Friday, the 27-year-old McCarty thought his first Masters appearance was going to be a short-lived one.

He was 3-over par for the day and 2 over for the tournament with the cut line looming.