Kristoffer Reitan of Norway handles stress of playing Augusta National for the first time

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Augusta National isn't intimidating Masters rookie Kristoffer Reitan.

The 28-year-old Norwegian looked right at home amid the azaleas and dogwoods, shooting a 4-under 68 on Friday to climb into a tie for seventh, eight shots behind runaway leader and defending champion Rory McIlroy but only two shots out of second place after 36 holes.

Reitan's big day, which included four straight birdies on the back nine, comes just five days after he secured his best finish on the PGA Tour - a tie for 10th at the Texas Open.

He never thought he'd be in this position.

"Exceeded my expectations," Reitan said.

The PGA Tour rookie is one of a record eight players from Nordic countries in the Masters this year.

While he hails from a country known for cross-country skiing - Norwegians have won the most Olympic gold medals in the sport - it never quite grabbed Reitan's attention.

Instead of hitting the slopes, his father would take him to stay in a house in Spain, where Reitan learned to play golf. He eventually realized he was pretty good, and chose it over his other love, soccer.

"I just ended up picking golf at a fairly early age, and that's been my entire life for a long time," Reitan said.

It's looking like a pretty good decision.

After years of struggling to secure a European tour card, Reitan broke through in 2025 with two international wins, including the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, which vaulted him into the top 50 in the world ranking and earned him a tee time at Augusta National - the one course he said he would love to play time and time again.

He'd never seen Augusta National before a couple of months ago.

Taking the advice of countryman Viktor Hovland, Reitan traveled to Georgia to play a few practice rounds before the Players Championship.

"That definitely helped," said Reitan, who played four practice rounds before Thursday's first round. "I came up just to gain some familiarity with the course and with the place and try calm down the nerves a little bit by doing that. So I felt like that was a good move."

Reitan began his run with a birdie on the tricky par-3 12th hole.

After three more birdies, he found himself tied for third and only a stroke off the lead. He wound up bogeying the 18th, and that was before McIlroy later went on a heater on the back nine to build his huge lead.

Reitan's run came to a close on the par-3 16th after what might have been his best shot of the day. His approach hit the flagstick, only to carom several feet away, and he missed the putt.

Reitan has no illusions about becoming the first Masters rookie to win since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

"No, I'm not thinking about that at all," he said. "Way too much golf to be played. I'm a rookie here, yeah. I'm a rookie on the PGA Tour. I'm just trying to find my feet and my game as well. I'm pretty humble in that regard."