Kevin Kisner's first Masters continues after tremendous putt on No. 18

Kevin Kisner and his caddie, Duane Bock, walked across No. 18 at Augusta National Golf Course, looking at the hill on the green and discussing the best way to attack his putt.

Kisner’s second shot on the hole landed at the back left corner of the green, creating a long distance for the ensuing putt. Needing to three-putt at worse to make the Masters cut, Kisner took his time to figure out the best approach.

Whatever Kisner and Bock talked about worked. Kisner tapped his putter to toward the slope of the hill, with the ball picking up speed as it began to roll down the hill. Perfectly placed, Kisner’s ball was on line and seemed destined to fall into the hole for an improbable birdie.

At the last second, the ball died, but gave Kisner the opportunity to tap it in for par.

Kisner tied for a second-best 72 on the day and now has a 5-over-par 149 for the tournament. He made the cut and will play the final two days of the Masters.

"It’s a putt you practice because you know you’re going to get it," Kisner said. "I knew I had to get it in a general area. I didn’t know I was going to get it as close as I did but when I saw it cross the hill, I knew it was good. I need more reps out here like anybody that’s young but I didn’t know it would get that close. I knew it could get to about four or five feet but it was pretty sweet to tap it in."

Kisner played golf at Georgia from 2002-05 and was a part of the Bulldogs’ last national championship team. He’s competing in his first Masters after experiencing a breakout 2015 season, which has him ranked 22nd in the world.

Kisner benefited by a few of the Masters front-runners, namely Jordan Spieth, faltering over the back nine. Early in the afternoon, Spieth was 8 under, which would have put the cut at 2 over. Spieth, still the Masters leader, finished his day at 4 under, which gave Kisner two more days of golf.

"Every time I looked up the scores were going the wrong way – the right way for me," Kisner said. "I was getting closer. It’s just a grind. You can’t really pay attention to the score. Every shot is so penal. In these conditions, it’s brutal – brutal on your mental game. To be able to hang in there and shoot 1-under on the back nine to make the cut was pretty clutch for me."

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 8:53 PM with the headline "Kevin Kisner's first Masters continues after tremendous putt on No. 18."