Zach Johnson matches personal Masters-best with 68

Before Friday, Zach Johnson had played the par-4 No. 10 hole at Augusta National 33 times in Masters competition. He had never birdied it, and had bogeyed it six times.

Friday, he birdied it to help save his tournament. He was 4-over par on the front nine Friday, but went 4-under on the back nine for his second-straight even-par 72. He made the 36-hole cut by two strokes.

Saturday, Johnson got his second-straight birdie at 10, the sixth-hardest hole on the course this week. Again he proceeded to go 4-under on the back nine, but this time it gave him a 4-under 68. That matched his personal-best here, set in the third round in 2008.

Johnson is tied for 12th place at 4-under 212, his lowest 54-hole total here. His best 72-hole total is 1-over 289, established when he won the Masters in 2007 in rugged weather conditions.

Saturday's birdie at 10 may looked unlikely when Johnson's tee shot landed a couple yards right of the fairway in the intermediate grass. He then hit an 8-iron 180 yards.

'It lands three or four yards on the green,” Johnson said. 'Truthfully, it was a perfect situation. If I'd been 10 yards further up or 10 yards further back, I would surely have made a 4. That's what you need sometimes here.”

Oh, Johnson deposited his 20-foot birdie putt in the cup to get his 3 on the hole. That's what you need sometimes, too.

The back nine ended as sweetly as it began, though not with a birdie. Johnson's second shot to the par-4 landed on the back of the green and rolled off. His long chip stopped about six feet from the jar, and he rolled in the putt from there for a sweet save.

'A really good save on the last,” he said. 'I said ‘Just hit a good putt. If it goes in, it doesn't really matter, you've played great.' I read it properly and fortunately, it dropped.”

In between 10 and 18, Johnson birdied the par-5s at 13 and 15, and at the par-3 16th.

'Very content with my back nine,” he said. 'My front was maybe a little more roller coaster-ish. My short game probably saved me more than my ball striking helped me.

'Once I got the driver kind of figured out on the back, it was one of those situations where I could kind of be more aggressive. So, yeah, I feel good about it. Outside of a couple shots on the front nine, I played pretty solid.”