MASTERS NOTEBOOK From Augusta National

Heated Haas: Talk about being in a rut.
Still angry after he didn't get a favorable ruling when his approach shot landed in a tire track, Jay Haas made a double-bogey on the next hole and finished with a 3-over 75 Friday. After being just two shots off the lead in the first round, he's now six strokes behind leader Justin Rose.
"I didn't shoot myself in the foot too badly. If I can shoot in the 60s tomorrow, I could be back in it," Haas said.
If he doesn't wind up in any more ruts, that is.
Haas was at even-par for the day Friday and looking at a possible birdie on the par-5 13th, when his approach shot landed in a tire track left by a cart. He thought he was entitled to relief, which would have allowed him to move the ball out of the rut. But a rules official said no, and Haas' appeal went nowhere.
"I think on our tour, I would have gotten relief," Haas said. "In their judgment, they didn't see any damage."
The damage wound up being to Haas' score. He managed to save par at No, 13, but still "worked up," he made double bogey at the par-4 14th.
One more time: Fred Couples' streak continues.
Couples advanced to the weekend at the Masters for the 20th straight time with a 3-under 69 that left him four strokes behind leader Justin Rose. Couples is still the only Masters champion who has never missed the cut at Augusta National -- as a pro or amateur.
"I get geared up to play here," said Couples, who won in 1992 and tied for second in 1998. "I think I can do well here. It'd be a miracle if I did well at another major."
But he's selling himself short. The 44-year-old still has more than enough game to be competitive when he's healthy, as Couple is now. He won his first tournament in five years last year, and has been playing solid golf this year.
He opened the Masters with a spotty 4-over 73 Thursday, but made only one bogey Friday. He and amateur Brandt Snedeker drew a standing ovation on the par-3 16th when they both put their tee shots within five feet of the hole.
While Snedeker two-putted, Couples made his putt for his fourth and final birdie of the day.
"There's no score I'm trying to shoot," he said. "I'm just trying not to make too many blunders."
Young guns: When Brandt Snedeker's ball went into the water on the 15th hole, all he could think about was the cut.
Not to worry. Despite his splashdown, the U.S. Amateur Public Links champion is hanging around for the weekend at the Masters. So is fellow amateur Casey Wittenberg, runner-up at the U.S. Amateur.
Both are at 4-over 148, 10 strokes behind leader Justin Rose.
"Relieved. Relieved is the best way to put it," Snedeker said, a smile crossing his face, when asked how it felt to make the cut. "I haven't really been playing that well, but I seemed to come through with a good shot when I needed it, a good putt when I needed it.
"Now I've got two days to work on it and try to get something going."
Snedeker got his first Masters off to a quick start Thursday with birdies on all three holes of the treacherous Amen Corner en route to a 1-over-par 73. He couldn't duplicate that Friday, but he did get a standing ovation.
Snedeker had to settle for a bogey after dunking his approach shot in the water on the par-5 15th. That would have unnerved some veterans, but Snedeker calmly rebounded, putting his tee shot within 5 feet on the par-3 16th and bringing the fans to their feet.
"That's something I'll definitely remember for the rest of my life," Snedeker said, beaming. "It gives me goosebumps just to think about it."
Wittenberg had perhaps the toughest draw of any of the amateurs, playing his first two rounds with Tiger Woods. Not only was he playing with the No. 1 player in the world, but he had hundreds, if not thousands, of people watching his every move.
Wittenberg did just fine, though, shooting an even-par 72 Friday to make the cut.
"Tiger was tremendous to me. He couldn't have been any nicer," Wittenberg said. "It was a lifetime experience."
-- Associated Press