-2 B Wetterich, T Clark (SA)
-1 V Taylor
Level J Kelly, V Singh (Fij), Z Johnson, J Rose (Eng)
+1 D Howell (Eng), L Glover, B Dredge (Wal), P Harrington (Ire), S Appleby (Aus), G Ogilvy (Aus)

American Brett Wetterich emerged with his overnight lead intact after carding a 73 for two under at the halfway stage of the 2007 Masters at Augusta.

The 33-year-old, tied with Justin Rose after round one, set the early mark and was joined by South African Tim Clark, last year’s runner-up, who shot 71.

England’s Rose bogeyed 18 for a 75 to slip back to level par.

Tiger Woods fought his way to 74 for three over, while defending champion Phil Mickelson (73) ended five over.

“I turned a 90 into a 74,” said Woods. “Yesterday, I let a good round get away and today I salvaged a bad one.”

Wetterich, who played on the US Ryder Cup team at the K Club, is trying to become the first debutant Masters winner - and only the fourth in history - since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

I don’t feel like I shouldn’t be out here or shouldn’t be at the top of the leaderboard,” said Wetterich, who was runner-up to Woods in the tournament before the Masters.

“I wasn’t pushing the issue. I made a lot of great par putts and saves. I was trying not to get ahead of myself and I thought I did a pretty good job of that.”

Clark, meanwhile, said he was puzzled by the lack of attention he received.

“I’m always a little surprised,” said Clark, a three-time winner on the European Tour. “I’ve had a third at the USPGA, a third at the US Open and a second here. Maybe that will just give me a little more incentive.”

Augusta local Vaughn Taylor finished on his own at one under, while former champion Vijay Singh quietly moved himself into contention with a 71 for level par alongside Americans Jerry Kelly and one-time leader Zach Johnson.

Ireland’s Padraig Harrington raced up the leaderboard with a stunning 68, the first of the week, to reach one over with England’s David Howell (75), Welshman Bradley Dredge (70) and US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy (70) of Australia.

England’s Paul Casey matched Ryder Cup colleague Harrington, and his 68 atoned for an opening 79 to take him to three over with Woods and countryman Luke Donald (74).

A total of 60 players made the cut on eight over, with US veteran Fred Couples squeezing in on the number to equal Gary Player’s record of 23 consecutive cuts in the Masters.

But South Africa’s Ernie Els was one of the big-name casualties.

The three-time major winner slumped to 10 over with rounds of 78, 76 to miss his first halfway cut in a major since the 1999 US PGA.

Also among those on an early flight home were two-time former champion Tom Watson, who triple-bogeyed the last to slip to nine over, Colin Montgomerie and Sergio Garcia (both 10 over) and Scottish amateur Richie Ramsay (+12).

The 71-year-old Player bowed out of his record-equalling 50th Masters with rounds of 83, 77, while Spanish great Seve Ballesteros, the champion in 1980 and 1983, propped up the field on 22 over after rounds of 86, 80.

Wetterich strung together eight straight pars before a birdie on the ninth took him to four under, the only player to reach that figure all day.

Five more pars kept him ahead before bogeys on 15 and 16 took him back to the pack.

Johnson soon edged past his Ryder Cup team-mate with a birdie on the eighth and he had a birdie putt on the short 16th for a two-shot lead.

But Johnson three-putted and finished with three straight bogeys to slide to level par.

Rose, meanwhile, struggled with his putter and missed a host of chances, ending without a single birdie. On Thursday he took 20 putts and was the only player not to make a bogey.