THE MASTERS : Maggert Leads by Stroke; Rain Chases Bigger Names : Masters: Forsman is in second. Floyd, Langer and Nicklaus are among 10 who will finish the second round today.

Jeff Maggert had missed five cuts coming into the Masters tournament. That’s hardly the way to prepare for a major event.

Nonetheless, Maggert, who has been on the PGA Tour for only two years, was the second-round leader Friday among those players who finished their rounds.

It rained here early in the afternoon, but play wasn’t suspended. Then, at about 5 p.m. EDT, play was suspended with 10 players still on the course when heavy rain made it unplayable.

Maggert shot a 67, five under par, and is at 137 for 36 holes, seven under.

Dan Forsman had his second consecutive 69 and is one stroke behind Maggert. Chip Beck, with a 67, and Russ Cochran, with a 69, are at 139.

It’s a leader board that resembles an event in San Diego, rather than a major tournament such as the Masters.

Still on the course and in contention when play was suspended were Raymond Floyd, Germany’s Bernhard Langer, Lee Janzen and Jack Nicklaus.

Floyd and Langer were six under through 16 holes. Janzen and Nicklaus were five and four under, respectively, through 13 holes.

Maggert, 29, who has yet to win on the tour, had a two-under-par 70 during Thursday’s opening round.

He was one under through 11 holes Friday. Then he chipped in from 30 feet for a birdie at the par-three 12th hole. He got another birdie at the par-four 14th.

Then, at the par-five 15th, he made an 18-foot putt from the fringe behind the green for an eagle.

“Before I knew it, I was in the lead,” said Maggert, an unassuming player who doesn’t seem to be particularly nervous about playing in his first Masters.

Maggert qualified by finishing sixth in the PGA Championship last August at St. Louis.

He shot a course-record 65 during the third round at Bellerive Country Club to move into a second-place tie in the PGA, then shot himself out of contention with a 74 during the final round.

“The PGA was a great learning experience for me,” Maggert said. “I played solid golf there. I knew what it takes to win. It’s just a case of controlling my nerves.”

If Maggert is nervous, it isn’t apparent. “I really don’t feel like I’m playing here for the first time, and I’m not intimidated,” he said.

Maggert was told that a first-year player in the Masters has not won it since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

“I don’t believe in superstition, or whatever,” he said. “I don’t really feel like I’m here for the first time.”

Maggert said he failed four times in qualifying school to get on the tour. He finally made it as the 1990 Ben Hogan (now Nike) Tour player of the year while winning two events.

“I was more nervous at tour school than I was on the first tee today,” he said.

An All-American at Texas A&M; in 1986, Maggert gained some experience by playing on the Asian tour.

As for preparing for the Masters, Maggert said: “I tried to play practice rounds with people who played here.”

So he asked if he could join an elite group on Wednesday--Arnold Palmer, Nicklaus and Floyd.

“I just wanted to get a few of their threads from their green jackets (emblems of Masters winners),” Maggert said, smiling.

As for familiarity with the Augusta National course, Maggert said, “I’ve seen (the Masters) so many times on TV that I felt I knew the course, especially the back nine.”

Maggert didn’t seem shocked to be leading the tournament.

“The course is straightforward,” he said. “I felt I’d get to this position, sooner or later.”

Forsman, 34, qualified for the Masters by winning the Buick Open last year, his fourth tour victory. He was 10th on the money list, earning 763,190.

He missed the cut in the Masters in 1986 and 1990.

“I had three goals this week,” he said. “One, to make the cut. Two, to finish among the top 24, and, three, to be in contention the last day. I’m ahead of schedule.”

Forsman shot a second consecutive 69 and has had only one bogey in 36 holes.

As for Maggert, Forsman said: “He’s a no-nonsense-type player. It was unfortunate what happened to him in St. Louis.”

Golf Notes

The 10 players who were on the course when play was halted will finish their rounds at 8:15 this morning, then the third round will start about 10. The low 44 players and ties and anyone within 10 strokes of the lead will make the cut. . . . Tom Kite, who is playing with a back injury, won’t make it. He shot a 78 on Friday and is at 151. . . . Curtis Strange, a two-time U.S. Open champion, withdrew Friday because of a wrist injury. He had shot a five-over-par 77 during the first round.

England’s Nick Faldo, the Masters winner in 1989 and 1990, had a quadruple-bogey seven on the par-three 12th hole at Amen Corner. He hit his tee shot into the water, then hit from a drop area into a bunker over the green. His bunker shot went back into the water. He finished with a 76 and is at 147, three over par for the tournament.

Chip Beck won the annual par-three tournament Wednesday. No winner of that tournament that began in 1960 has ever won the Masters in the same year. “I love the challenge of breaking that jinx,” Beck said. Russ Cochran, who is at 139 with Beck, is a left-handed player. A southpaw has never won the Masters. Cochran said the “left-right thing” isn’t that important. “Certain people play better on certain courses,” he said.