AUGUSTA, Ga. _ Xander Schauffele had never heard the power of these roars in the Masters. For good reason.
The San Diego native and 10th-ranked player in the world hadn't played in the midst of a Tiger Woods charge at Augusta National. He'd also never provided his own extended fireworks here.
As Woods created a loud buzz in the second round Friday by shooting 4-under-par 68 to get firmly in contention, Schauffele was playing better, even if he wasn't getting nearly as much love.
With a large crowd at 18 waiting for Woods to finish in the group directly behind him, Schauffele stuffed his approach to 4 feet and made the birdie to polish off the week's best score of 65.
In only his second Masters, Schauffele was in a four-way tie for sixth at 6 under, one shot behind the five players at the top of the leaderboard.
"It was awesome," Schauffele, 25, said of the electric atmosphere. "I think on the seventh hole I told my caddie (Austin Kaiser), how cool ... one of my favorite things about being on this property besides it being Augusta is just the roars through the trees.
"Up to that point, didn't make too many myself, but I made some birdies coming in, which was nice."
The San Diego State alum birdied four of his last six holes, including three straight starting at No. 13. He reached both of the par-5s on the back nine in two shots and narrowly missed putts for eagle.
Asked if the roars he heard were different from those of Woods, Schauffele grinned and said, "I just thought since I was tapping in for birdies, two-putt birdies aren't that exciting, but I'll take them all day."
Schauffele, who tied for 50th in his Masters debut last year, will contend in a major on the weekend for the fourth time. He tied for fifth and sixth, respectively, in the last two U.S. Opens and tied for second in last year's British Open.
