Peterson hanging around cut line at Augusta

Last year's T4 effort at the U.S. Open at Olympic brought John Peterson a lot of things - confidence, recognition, a paycheck for over $276,000. Considering his lack of status at the time, on any tour, the paycheck may have been the most crucial.

Now a member of the Web.com Tour, Peterson enjoys a break from minor league action this week to take advantage of another of his U.S. Open perks. Based on his fourth-place finish at Olympic, Peterson earned a spot in this year's Masters, after making the cut in all four of his Web.com starts so far this year.

Peterson demonstrated no severe lack of Augusta knowledge in his opening round, birdieing two par-5's and compiling 15 pars en route to a 1-under 71 that left him safely inside the cut line.

Friday was not as fortunate for the former LSU star, however. Peterson struggled in the morning's windy conditions, double-bogeying the 7th as part of a 4-over 40 on the front nine and limping in with a 77. Barring a very strong finish by Tiger Woods or another of the players high on the leaderboard, though, Peterson should find himself around for the weekend. All players within 10 shots of the lead after two rounds are invited to compete on the weekend at the Masters, and the lead is currently 5-under as Friday play winds down (Peterson is 4-over).