Reuters
 Friday, April 6
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Taking their place on a Masters leaderboard crowded with big names such as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jose Maria Olazabal and David Duval are two outsiders who have displayed a big game at Augusta National -- Angel Cabrera and Toshimitsu Izawa.

Boring works for Janzen
Two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen does not care if his golf game looks boring. He just hopes it will help him win a green jacket this weekend.

Janzen has never finished in the top 10 at Augusta National and did not even make the cut last year. But he shot a 2-under 70 on Friday for a midway total of 7-under 137, just three behind leader Chris DiMarco.

Janzen, 36, a model of consistency with his straight drives and sure putts, started with 11 successive pars before misjudging the wind and bogeying the tricky par-3 12th. He bounced back with birdies on Nos. 13, 17 and 18.

"I know my game is boring," Janzen confessed to reporters after his round. "But boring pays well."

Janzen has earned more than $8 million in 12 years on the PGA Tour.

Janzen has had a tough time over the years playing weekends in The Masters. In nine years, he has only broken par on one day -- Sunday 1995 when he shot 71.

"The back nine has pretty much done me in past years," Janzen said, adding that Augusta's capricious winds, the lightning fast greens and the change in the pin placements can play games with a golfer's head.

"You can play the same hole two days in a row and have to play it two different ways," he said. "You can somehow conjure up myths that affect your head."
While Izawa and Cabrera have enjoyed their share of success, they have not yet won full recognition as members of the game's elite. That might change at The Masters, where they both stand 7-under, three shots off the lead.

"I had a tremendous round today," said the 32-year-old Izawa, a Masters rookie who blistered the front nine in 32 on his way to a 66 and 137 total. "Yes, quite exciting."

Izawa was facing the weekend at Augusta National with confidence. "I feel like I will be relaxed tomorrow and perform as well as I did today."

Asked how he liked the course, Izawa said, "Lots of fun but very difficult."

Cabrera, a 31-year-old long-hitter who got into golf as a caddie in Cordoba, arrived in Augusta on a wave of confidence after finally breaking through for his first European Tour victory last week at the Argentine Open.

Last year as a Masters rookie, Cabrera shot 74-76 and missed the cut.

"I came in feeling better," Cabrera explained about his Masters turnaround. "I'm playing better, plus I now know the golf course and it makes it easier to come in here and play when you know what you are going to play."

In Friday's second round, Cabrera threatened for the lead as he lifted himself to 9-under by the eighth hole before slipping back. A birdie at the 18th brought him within three of leader Chris DiMarco.

Cabrera got a satisfying taste of the limelight last year at the World Cup in Argentina, when he teamed with his mentor, Eduardo Romero, and went head-to-head against Tiger Woods and David Duval, finishing second overall.

"Yes that helped," Cabrera said about gaining confidence. "Because just to be near Tiger and to play with Tiger, against Tiger, and to be competitive with Tiger, is something very important.

"You learn from that."




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