THE MASTERS RELATED STORIES The Masters Home Page The Masters Preview Round 4: Angel Cabrera wins Masters in a playoff Round 4: Mickelson & Tiger in epic duel Round 4: Katayama in best finish by a Japanese Round 4: Campbell rues missed opportunities Round 4: Late mistakes cost Kenny Perry dearly Round 4: McIlroy ends Masters in flurry of birdies Round 4: Augusta passes renovations test Round 4: Thrilling climax to classic Masters Round 3: Kenny Perry & Angel Cabrera lead by 2 Round 3: Woods & Mickelson paired on Sunday Round 3: Shingo Katayama aiming for Asian major Round 3: Padraig Harrington's chances go with a 9 Round 2: Campbell & Perry lead at halfway Round 2: Anthony Kim breaks birdie record Round 2: No progress for Tiger with round of 72 Round 2: Todd Hamilton shows return to form Round 1: Arnold Palmer gets Masters underway Round 1: Chad Campbell leads the way with a 65 Round 1: Tiger Woods opens with a 70 Round 1: Larry Mize surprised to be five under Round 1: Norman creating new Masters memories Round 1: Youngsters fail to make an impression Course Guide: Augusta National The Masters Scores Criticism grows over tougher Augusta Sergio Garcia looking to shake unwanted label Seve Ballesteros remembered at Augusta Tim Clark wins the Masters Par-3 competition Chilly weather greets players at Augusta Greg Norman returns for another shot at Augusta Tee times for the opening two rounds Tiger Woods 7-4 favourite for the Masters Trevor Immelman emotional about title defence Padraig Harrington aiming for third straight major Tiger Woods carries aura into Masters Corporate cut backs in evidence Tiger Woods comeback the talk of The Masters Golf's younger generation tee up at Augusta Final Masters for Gary Player Time running out for Masters hopefuls Fifteen qualify for 2009 Masters Tiger Woods confident of returning for Masters Only minor changes at Augusta for 2009 Masters Honda brings Yang top 150 and Masters slot 2009 PGA Tour Schedule and Results 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 COMPETITIONS, GIFTS AND OFFERS Fantastic Cleveland wedge trade-in offer! Teeofftimes Fore-Tee Days of Giveaways! WIN 2 nights/3 rds at Botley Park Tom Watson's DVD - only £19.99! Save money on golf in France!

Todd Hamilton shows return to form

American Todd Hamilton, golf’s forgotten man since his surprise victory at the 2004 British Open, was back in the limelight at the U.S. Masters on Friday.

The 43-year-old buried memories of seven missed cuts in nine starts on the 2009 PGA Tour by moving into contention with a two-under-par 70 for a six-under tally of 138.

“On paper my year has not been that great,” Hamilton told reporters after carding an eagle, four birdies and four bogeys in swirling winds at Augusta National. “But it wasn’t to the point where I lost all hope.

“I may have had some 74s and 75s but a drive five yards left here or five yards right there a couple of times during the round and those 74s and 75s could have been even-pars.

“It doesn’t look very good but it wasn’t to the point where I was going to quit playing the game.”

The golfing public became aware of Hamilton at Royal Troon five years ago when he beat South African Ernie Els in a four-hole playoff.

A rank outsider going into the tournament, Hamilton held off the former world number one to clinch his second PGA Tour title.

He ended that campaign as the Tour’s rookie of the year at the age of 38 but has largely struggled for consistency since.

“I did not play all that great until maybe the last half of last year,” said Hamilton, who has not won since his British Open victory and has finished no higher than 134th in the PGA Tour money list.

“Then all of a sudden I started making cuts although my finishes were not spectacular.

“Had I had one better round out of all four rounds I would have had some really good finishes. It seemed like I was always finishing between 25th and 40th.”

Hamilton, who failed to post a single top-10 for the second consecutive year despite making 17 of 28 cuts on the 2008 PGA Tour, said improved driving had made a big difference this week.

“I’ve been driving the ball well for a while,” he added. “I feel very relaxed and I always know I can play golf at this level.

“It doesn’t happen as often as I would like and probably a lot of guys would say that. But I feel if I can get off to a good start, usually I’m okay.”

Clubhouse Scores