PAUL BASSAT is the founder and joint chief executive of Seek.com.au. The Melbourne golf nut is paying his first visit to Augusta and will blog daily on his experiences for BackPageLead.

Most players starting round two would have been thinking it was going to be tough starting several shots behind Tiger and Phil. However the story of the day (other than Nick Riewoldt's hamstring injury) was great rounds from two Englishman, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood. Poulter and Westwood are sitting at 8 under and lead the field by two shots with Tiger and Mickelson among a group of 5 players at 6 under.

Overall the course was tougher on day two, due to a combination of faster greens and tougher pin placements. The fairytale didn't quite continue for Tom Watson and Fred Couples but both performed creditably and are in a tie for ninth place at 3 under.

It was a poor day for the Aussies with four of them making the cut but none of them in real contention. Adam Scott is the best placed at even par after a disappointing 75.

Perhaps those guys missing the cut could spend a bit of time over the weekend with John Daly. Long John didn't score an invitation to this year's event but he is playing a role at the Masters by flogging tee-shirts to punters from a bus parked opposite Magnolia Lane. Classy bloke!

It is worth mentioning a few of the other notables. My mate Tony and I had a wager after the first round on worst score for the two rounds (we tied with Michael Campbell and Ian Woosnam both shooting 164) as well as biggest increase in score between rounds one and two. On that front, Tony made a superb pick with Sandy Lyle who managed to back up with an 86 after his opening round 69. (I am embarrassed to admit that I picked on 16 year old Italian amateur Matteo Manaserro who fortunately defied my bad wishes and qualified for the weekend).

One of the highlights of the day was watching several groups come through 15 and 16. A shift in wind direction and tough pin placement on the far left of the green completely transformed 15. For those players having a go at the green, they ran the risk of going into the water (Els) or shooting at the right side of the green (Mickelson) and having a nearly impossible putt down the slope. For those laying up, the third shot is incredibly difficult. A couple of yards short and the ball spins back into the pond and a couple of yards long and the ball runs off the back off the green towards the pond at the back of the hole. Els in particular nearly imploded on 15 and was lucky to walk off the green with a double bogey 7.

Another highlight was lunch. Tony and I each had two sandwiches, a bottle of water and a banana for a combined total of $12. No one could accuse the good folks at Augusta National of profiteering. The fried chicken sandwiches are an unexpected highlight of Augusta and two more days of them will be almost as enjoyable as another couple of great days of golf.

Another highlight was the Arnie Palmer lookalike competition. If you go to Vegas, you run the risk of running into Elvis impersonators but at Augusta National it seems like every second guy looks like Arnie. So far I have managed to go up to eight guys and say words to the effect of "Mr Palmer, it is an honour to meet you." I have promised myself to not that mistake again over the weekend!

All in all a fantastic day of golf and a lot look forward to over the next two days.

* If you are attending a major sporting event and want to blog for BPL, we'd love to hear from you. Drop us a note at our Feedback page.