Charl Schwartzel revealed rewatching some of his winning moments from his Masters Tournament victory in 2011 inspired him to a brilliant 69 on day two at Augusta National Golf Club.
With blustery winds making scoring far tougher than on day one, the South African's three under par effort left him on the same score for the week and right in contention for a second Green Jacket.
The 11-time DP World Tour winner made it to the weekend in the first two Rolex Series events of the season but since then has missed six cuts in a row on the US PGA Tour.
He made a mockery of that form on Friday at Augusta and revealed he had been delving into his archive in the build up to the season's opening Major Championship.
"I haven't felt like I've played as badly as my results," he said. "I tried to tighten the swing up a little bit. Get the hands a little more passive, hands were a little too active.
An enjoyable Friday for the 2011 Masters Champion ✍️@CA_Schwartzel | #TheMasters
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 8, 2022
"I must be honest. These two rounds are some of the two best ball-striking rounds I've had in a very long time.
“The bad results didn’t really determine how I felt coming in here.
“I actually took two weeks off and as the two weeks went by, my confidence grew in belief that I could win this tournament because I was starting to hit it very good and just looked at old footage and it’s still there.
"I worked on the swing, and I just tried to erase all the last couple of weeks, the results."
Schwartzel got up and down from the sand for a birdie on the par-five second and while he gave the shot back on the fourth, an approach to two feet at the seventh saw him turn in 35.
My confidence grew in belief that I could win this tournament because I was starting to hit it very good and just looked at old footage and it’s still there
Another stunning iron shot left him a tap-in on the tenth but he surrendered it on the next before two-putting for birdie from just off the green at the par-five 13th and almost acing the par-three 16th.
"It was tough," he said. "I think we had a little fortune this morning. It was very cold but we didn't deal with a lot of wind for the first five or six holes.
"It started picking up around seven, eight and then the back nine... it got hard.
"Down the bottom there around Amen Corner, the wind swirls a lot. You know that it's there. It's just trying to commit to a shot, that was the hardest thing.
"I think anybody would be happy shooting level par. If you shoot three under, that's a bonus, and you have hit a few good shots and make a few extra putts."
