Van de Velde makes history

AUGUSTA, APRIL 8. Jean Van de Velde became the first Frenchman in Masters history to make the weekend when he shot a two-under 70 in the second round. It left him on two-over 146 and well within the cut at four-over.

The only other French pro to play here was Jean Garaialde who played twice in the 1960s and failed both times to get past the Friday cut. The 33-year-old Van de Velde, who now lives in Switzerland, was delighted with his round. ``From nine through 15, I was four under par. That was a pretty good stretch,'' he said.

Even a bogey on seven after six straight pars could not rattle him. He knew after his opening round that he had to shoot a good score to save par. ``The bogey on seven just kind of got me Angry. I knew there were still three par-5's left that I could get to in two shots,'' he explained. Van de Velde added that his round could have been even better. ``With a little bit of luck I could have had a 68 or 67,'' he said. But he was still delighted with his performance. ``If someone had sold me a two-under after I walked off the ninth I would have paid and walked straight back to the clubhouse,'' he admitted.

- AFP

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Section  : Sport
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