Report: Rose claims halfway lead

The 26-year-old Englishman bounced back from the 75 he hit in his debut round at Augusta on Thursday.

The key to Casey's round were three straight birdies through Amen Corner, although some of the shine was removed when he three-putted the 18th.

"I'm very, very happy with a nice 69. I would have loved 68, but 69 was my target today," said Casey.

He added: "Everything in my game suits this place - I hit the ball high and if I putt well I can shoot low numbers.

"I would really like to see my name up there on the leaderboard by Saturday night."

But Casey was unhappy with the frustrating end to his round.

"That was annoying, but it was like that all the way round. You've got to hit the ball in the right spot on this course.

"It was very tempting to fire at the pins but I'm glad I resisted."

Casey's fellow Englishman Ian Poulter failed to get any momentum going in his second round, ending with a one-over-par 73.

Poulter, who got off to a bad start with a bogey at the opening hole, only made one birdie despite setting up several opportunities with some fine approach play.

It's as tough as I thought it would be Britain's Ian Poulter on his Masters debut

"I played fantastic, but missed many, many, many chances," said Poulter, who made the cut on the mark at four over par.

"I think I had six lip-outs, but that's Augusta for you. It's as tough as I thought it would be, but what a place to come and play golf - fantastic!"

While Casey and Poulter can look forward to two more rounds at the Augusta National, fellow Englishmen Brian Davis, Nick Faldo and Gary Wolstenholme all failed to make the cut.

Faldo, a three-time Masters champion, finished on seven over par, while amateur Wolstenholme was two shots worse off. Davis, playing in his first Masters, carded a second-round 73 but the damage was done with an 82 on Thursday.