Two English players have set the pace at this year’s Masters. Both are seeking their first major win and neither have held the lead or co-lead after any round of a major.

Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter finished round 2 at eight under, two shots clear of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, KJ Choi, Ricky Barnes and Anthony Kim, with YE Yang a further shot back.

Yesterday, easy pins and calm conditions meant that we saw veterens Fred Couples (50) and Tom Watson (60) at the top of the leaderboard.

‘Today’s golf course was very different from yesterday”, commented Tiger Woods. Trickier pin placements, longer tees, faster greens and stronger winds made scoring conditions a lot tougher.

Today required a lot more patience and shot making, and that’s exactly what we saw from Westwood (world number 4) who picked up 4 shots (with an eagle on the 2nd) in his first 7 holes. Had it not been for an eratic drive on the 14th and a resulting double bogey, he would have surely held the two round lead on his own.

“It was a grinding day, danger lurks everywhere and you have to keep your wits about you,” said Westwood.

Westwood has had his fair share of near misses in majors, finishing third in both the Open Championship and USPGA last year. Consistently one of the best players in Europe, he certainly has the game to win.

He said, “Obviously it would mean a lot to win a major championship. I’ve come close over the last couple of years, three third-place finishes and I know I’ve got the game and I know I’ve got the temperament. It’s just going that one step further and finishing.”

The ever-confident Poulter (world number 7), who by winning the World Matchplay Championship has won already on US soil this year, says that his second round was one of the best he’s played in a while. His second sucessive 68 has given him a great chance of his maiden major victory.

“To be playing Augusta was in my dreams, and to be sitting at the top of the leaderboards was in my dreams, as well. So hopefully we can have a good weekend and be in a similar situation come Sunday night.”

The last Brit to win a major was Paul Lawrie in 1999, who capitalized on Jean Van de Velde’s collapse at Carnoustie. With such an abundance of talent in the British Isles, it has been a long eleven years. Both Poulter and Westwood have the experience and game to win a major, and being friends it might help that they are paired together on Saturday.

With so many great players within a few shots of the lead, it is set up for a fantastic weekend of golf. Who knows which Augusta we get tomorrow, but if Tiger is still on the leaderboard come tomorrow evening, there’s a very strong chance of him picking up major number 15 and have the press talking about his golf instead of his personal life.

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If anyone knows what it’s like to face intense media scrutiny, it’s John Daly. The Memphis based golfer recently made his reaction to the Tiger Woods Media Statement public, saying that Tiger handled it poorly and shouldn’t have waited the three months it took for him to face the public. He believes it gave the media and speculators too much time to write “bad things” and spread rumors.

Daly, whose antics over the years have given the press plenty of fodder for jaw-dropping stories, knows very well how punishing they can be. He certainly has more experience than Tiger in dealing with the negative attention drawn from of his bad behavior, and says that if he makes a mistake he’ll admit it right away and face the consequences.

JD, a British Open winner who grew up honing his game at Arkansas Golf Courses, never really conformed to the clean cut persona of the professional tournament golfer. And he never tried to. His attitude on the course is just as cavalier as in his personal life, and his exciting, aggressive play reflects that. John Daly is who he is, and although some would say he could have achieved a lot more in the game, it is debatable whether he would be a two time major champion without playing golf in the same way he lives his life. He brings a sense of humanity and humility to the game. Whether it’s down-right brilliance or cringing self destructive behavior, you have to admit that there is rarely a dull moment when he is on the golf course.

He could obviously benefit from more self-restraint, but golf needs characters like him. In a sport where most players fit the mold of the classic all-American, Daly plays with his heart on his sleeve and it’s awesome to watch. It would be great for golf to see him back playing regularly on the PGA Tour and competing in majors again.

Golf needs Tiger for a different reason. Although he is no longer the perfect role model for young kids, he is the greatest to have ever played the game and he has made the sport more popular than ever. Golf is not just a game, it has so many other benefits for personal and sociological development that it is amazing what positive exposure he has given the sport.

Being Tiger Woods and one of the world’s most respected sportsman gives him a huge responsibility to act with integrity at all times, which he has now failed in doing. He is, and will continue to pay for the huge magnitude of his mistake(s), but the game needs him back on the course doing what he does best. The sport is simply a lot more popular when he plays and he raises the bar for all his fellow competitors.

What is now most interesting, is whether the golfer attributed with having the best mental game of them all, will have the mental tenacity to overcome all the negative attention and get back to playing his best golf. As Tiger said in his statement, “It’s not what you achieve in life, it’s what you overcome”.