ORLANDO, Fla. -- As Rickie Fowler said earlier in the week, patience is certainly a virtue in a golf tournament. As far as Steve Marino’s goes, it’s pretty good.

“Obviously I've dealt with a couple of disappointments,” said Marino, who has finished in the top 10 20 times and in the top 3 five times in his still relatively young career. “But every single one of those experiences, I felt like I've played pretty well. It's just something was missing to kind of get me over the top; a good break here or a putt to drop in there, and that's how it is out here.”

After a 67 Friday, Marino is again in contention. He made six birdies and just one bogey in the second round at Bay Hill and is 6 under for the week.

“Everybody is so good out here, that every shot is so precious, that to win a golf tournament, you can't really afford to throw away any shots,” Marino continued. “Unfortunately the times that I've been in contention, I've just maybe thrown away one or two here and there, and you just can't afford to do that.”

He certainly didn’t throw many away on Friday -- though he did miss two putts from inside seven feet.

Still, Marino is in good position and hoping to erase a number of near-misses, including one from earlier this year at Pebble Beach, where he tied for second.

What has Marino learned from all the close calls?

”I put myself in those positions a number of times and if I wasn't doing the right things, then I wouldn't be in those positions to succeed or win a tournament,” he said. “Every time I put myself in a position like that, it gives me more confidence; no matter if I don't win or if I don't play well, it just gives me the confidence to know that if I put ‑‑ if I'm able to get there, I'm able to finish it off.

“If I have the game to do what it takes to get to that point, it's just a matter of time for me until I just keep doing the same things and finish one off.” -- Brian Wacker