THE MASTERS : Golf’s Past Makes Its Presence Felt : Golf: Watson leads and Nicklaus comes back from a quadruple-bogey seven on the 12th hole to pull within four strokes.

It was just like old times Friday. There was Tom Watson striding up the 18th fairway at Augusta National with Jack Nicklaus, his playing partner and longtime rival.

They were greeted by thunderous applause from the gallery at the Masters, recognizing two of the game’s greatest players who had battled each other fiercely in the 1970s and part of the ‘80s.

And now they were joined again on a day that Watson took the second-round lead and Nicklaus made a miraculous comeback.

Watson, who hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since 1987, shot his second consecutive 68 and, at 136, holds a two-stroke lead over Ian Woosnam of Wales, Mark Calcavecchia, Mark McCumber and Lanny Wadkins.

It is a tightly bunched field heading into today’s third round as eight players are within three shots of the lead and 18 are within five shots.

Nicklaus shot a 72 and is four shots behind Watson at 140. It was hardly a routine par round, though. Nicklaus overcame a seemingly disastrous quadruple bogey on the par-three 12th hole with a vintage finish.

After hitting two balls into Rae’s Creek bordering the 12th green and taking a seven, he responded with four consecutive birdies to stay in contention to win his seventh Masters championship.

The drama reached its peak at the par-three 16th hole when Nicklaus sank a 30-foot putt for a birdie. While Nicklaus was still acknowledging applause from the crowd, Watson then sank another 30-footer to go eight under par for the tournament.

Each player parred the final two holes on a day when the veterans asserted themselves on a course where experience is essential.

The top of the leader board had some familiar names--Watson, 41; Wadkins, 41, with a 138; Raymond Floyd, 48 (139); Hale Irwin, 45 (140); Fuzzy Zoeller, 39 (140), and Nicklaus, 51 (140).

“The more you play at Augusta, the more you understand where not to hit the ball,” Watson said, “although nothing is safe here.”

Nicklaus and Watson share a mutual admiration.

“Tom played exceptionally well,” Nicklaus said. “He’s a great competitor. He’s trying to whip me and the field, and I enjoy that. That’s what golf is all about.”

Watson said it was special to be paired with Nicklaus.

“I’ve always admired the way Jack plays. He doesn’t waste any shots and he has wonderful concentration.”

Of course, Nicklaus wasted two on the 12th hole when his tee shot went into the water and then his second shot from the drop area also skidded back into the creek.

“I committed the cardinal sin,” Nicklaus said of his errant tee shot at No. 12.

Nicklaus said that when he reached the 13th tee, he said to himself, “OK, dummy, You’re only six shots back. Get your composure and just play golf.”

McCumber said it takes a player of Nicklaus’ caliber to shake off the effects of a quadruple bogey.

“It’s like a cold slap in the face,” he said. “You’re mad and you’re not trying to protect anything out there any more.”

Nicklaus said he wasn’t angry, simply determined.

So was Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal, who got a “quad” at the par-three sixth hole when he was contending for the lead.

“I was feeling so down, I couldn’t believe it,” Olazabal said.

However, like Nicklaus, the 24-year-old Spaniard rallied to get four birdies on the back nine to shoot a 71 and stay in contention at 139.

Although the leader board is crowded, it seems that Nick Faldo’s chances of winning an unprecedented third consecutive Masters title are bleak.

Faldo shot a 73 and, at 145, trails Watson by nine strokes.

“I’m just pleased to be playing tomorrow,” Faldo said. “My short game is letting me down badly. I’m not doing the right thing at the right time.”

Faldo beat Floyd in a playoff on the second extra hole last year to win his second Masters title.

Floyd isn’t brooding over his lost opportunity, though.

“It’s something I’ll always remember, but the hurt was gone in a couple of days,” he said. “At least, I gave myself a chance to win, but I didn’t do what was necessary.”

Floyd was surprised that the scores weren’t lower on an overcast Friday. There was minimal wind, and the greens were holding shots.

Irwin disagreed, saying: “You are seeing some good scoring. You’re not talking about some little course with flat greens out there.”

Most of the players agreed, however, that the significance of the Masters, one of four major tournaments, tends at times for cautious shotmaking.

Not with Nicklaus. He didn’t back off after his quadruple bogey. He simply turned his game up a notch.

“It didn’t surprise me that he made four straight birdies after the 12th hole,” Watson said. “Nothing Jack does surprises me.”

Golf Notes

Ian Woosnam was the early leader with a 66. Tom Watson, playing in the afternoon, took the lead at the par-five 15th hole with an eagle. . . . Amateur Phil Mickelson, after shooting a 69 in the first round, had a 73 for a 142. . . . Billy Ray Brown, playing in his first Masters, had the low round of the day, a 65, after opening with a 74 Thursday. His round could have been even better because he missed some short putts. Brown tied for third in the U.S. Open last year but hasn’t done much since. “I have played just well enough to get by, just making some cuts,” he said. Brown had eight birdies and a bogey in his round.

Greg Norman had a 69 Friday after shooting a 78 Thursday and missed the cut, which was at 146. “I have four flat tires and I need to get ‘em pumped up,” said Norman, who added that he hasn’t played well since the Nabisco Championships in October. “I just haven’t had the fire in my belly.” He also cited fatigue because of four trips to his native Australia. His plans now? “I’m going to Mexico for some scuba diving for perhaps a month--and I’m not taking my clubs with me.”