Golf-Masters-Par five strategy reaps rich reward for Flesch

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 11 (Reuters) - Back at the U.S. Masters for the first time in three years, American Steve Flesch took advantage of the par-five holes to charge up the leaderboard in Friday's second round.

The left-hander fired a flawless five-under-par 67 in relatively calm conditions at Augusta National, eagling the 13th on his way to the lowest score of the week.

"I played great," four-times PGA Tour winner Flesch told reporters after posting a five-under total of 139 to lie three strokes off the early pace. "The way I planned on playing this week was attack the par-fives when I could.

"Not necessarily go for them in two, because getting far enough out there now, as wet as it is, I'm not getting much roll on my driver.

"If I got a chance to go for one I would but otherwise just lay up and let my wedge kind of do the work there," added the American, a medium-length hitter off the tee. "And that's kind of how it's been working out."

The 40-year-old, who booked a return ticket to Augusta National by triumphing twice on the 2007 PGA Tour, covered the four par-fives in five under on Friday.

He birdied the second, the eighth and the 15th, and spectacularly eagled the 13th after hitting a three-iron from 234 yards to within two feet.

"I made a good swing, I hit it flush and I actually thought when it landed on the green it went over," Flesch said.