The 17-year wait for an English Major winner could come to an end this weekend after David Lynn, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood moved into contention for the Masters Tournament at Augusta National.
The trio, all aiming to break a run that dates back to Sir Nick Faldo’s third Green Jacket in 1996, all reached three under as difficult conditions kept scoring in check.
Three behind halfway leader Jason Day, the English contingent all have various reasons to be confident heading into the weekend.
Lynn is playing only his third Major Championship, but finished second in last year’s US PGA Championship and was pleased to add a 73 to his opening 68.
The 37 year old, who had two bogeys and just one birdie on the 18th, said: "I was just grinding out the pars. I actually had quite a few chances on the back nine, so to finally finish with a birdie I hit a fantastic shot into the last to about six feet.
"As we can see by the numbers on the scoreboard, nobody is running away with it, so boring is good."
World Number Three Rose and his Ryder Cup teammate Westwood both signed for rounds of 71.
Westwood, who opened with a double-bogey six on Thursday but has finished in the top 15 in all of the last three years, said: "It was a solid day and I did what I needed to in the conditions. It feels like the sort of week where nobody is going to run away with it."
