The Masters Tournament said goodbye to Arnold Palmer (Stats | Bio) on Friday and hello to a possible new world order at Augusta National Golf Club.

On a day when Palmer received a sendoff fit for the King of Golf that he is, the long-dormant European contingent returned to the top of the tournament leaderboard.

Only one European is ranked in the top 10 in the world this week, but through 36 holes, the top three players hail from that continent.

First-round leader Justin Rose (Stats | Bio) , of England, maintained his two-shot lead with 1-under-par 71, which brought him to 6-under 138. The 23-year-old is two shots ahead of Germany's Alex Cejka (Stats | Bio) , who shot 70 on Friday, and Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal (Stats | Bio) , a two-time Masters champion who shot 69. Rose is ranked 67th in the World Golf Ranking, Cejka is 52nd, and Olazabal is 135th.

Olazabal's 1999 victory is the last time a European has won the Masters; they won seven times between 1988 and 1996.

The last European to win a major championship came in July 1999, when Scotland's Paul Lewrie (Stats | Bio) captured the British Open.

"The odds are probably against a European not winning a major for that span of time, so it has to right itself eventually," Rose said. "At the halfway stage, those odds are better than normal."

This is the first time in the 68 years the Masters has been contested that Europeans have held down the top three spots after 36 holes.

"It would be nice to have another European win the tournament, that's for sure," Olazabal said.

Korea's K.J. Choi (Stats | Bio) (70) and American Phil Mickelson (Stats | Bio) (69) are tied for fourth place, three shots off the lead. Choi was out in 6-under 30, but came home in 40 for at total of 70. Mickelson did it the other way, shooting 33 on the back nine for 69.

Golfers four back of Rose are Davis Love III (Stats | Bio) (67), Fred Couples (Stats | Bio) (69), Augusta native Charles Howell (71), Ernie Els (Stats | Bio) (72) and Chris DiMarco (Stats | Bio) (73).

Only 44 players made the 36-hole cut, which fell at 4-over 148. It's the smallest weekend field since 1996, and it ties the Masters record.

Palmer, of course, won't be around for the final two rounds, and neither will defending champion Mike Weir (Stats | Bio) (79-70-149) or John Daly (Stats | Bio) (78-71-149). Tiger Woods (Stats | Bio) , the world's top-ranked player, shot a first-round 75 but rebounded with 69 and is at 144.

Playing in his record 50th Masters, the 74-year-old Palmer shot 84-84-168. With his 16-year-old grandson, Sam Saunders, on his bag, Palmer received rousing ovations everywhere he went.

"It's not fun sometimes to know it's over," Palmer said.

He ended his career at Augusta National with four victories and an even 150 rounds.

"I won't say I'm happy it's done," Palmer said. "It's time for it to be done for me. Augusta and this golf tournament have been about as big a part of my life as anything other than my family."

Palmer nearly ended his final round with four straight pars, but missed a par putt on No. 18.

As Palmer walked to the scorer's tent for the final time, he was greeted by more than 30 of his fellow Augusta National members. Some players, including Couples, also stayed behind to pay their tribute to the man who has meant so much to this tournament.

Palmer has been around the Masters so long that 81 of the 93 players in the tournament weren't even born when he played in his first Masters in 1955.

Six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus (Stats | Bio) might not be far behind Palmer. Nicklaus, 64, shot 75-75-150 and missed the cut for the third straight time he's played here. It was his 44th appearance.

"I'm just about done; if you were in my body, you'd feel that way too," Nicklaus said.

Asked what the Masters would be like one day without both Palmer and Nicklaus in the field, Nicklaus said, "You'll find that happening very shortly."

Nicklaus said he played this year because he didn't want to end his career here by shooting 85-77, as he did in 2003.

"I want to go out playing half decent," Nicklaus said. "I have no desire to keeping shooting 85s. Seventy-fives are not terrible, but they're not very good."

The tournament got back on track logistically when 18 players completed their weather-delayed first rounds Friday morning.

In the second round, on greens that Steve Flesch (Stats | Bio) said were "significantly softer" after Thursday's heavy shower, the scoring average improved from 75.17 in the first round to 73.78 .

Rose "stuck to my task" he said, and showed no signs of buckling to the pressure of being a front-runner. On Friday, Rose had 15 pars, two birdies and a bogey. For the 36 holes, he's hit 90 percent of the greens in regulation. Rose still hasn't had a great putting round - he's needed his putter 32 times each round.

Rose, who lives in Fleet, Hampshire, England, is the first player since DiMarco in 2001 to hold both the first- and second-round leads. The last first-round leader to win the Masters was Ben Crenshaw (Stats | Bio) , in 1984.

Asked if he can win, Rose said, "I believe I can, yeah."

He knows that pressure will only intensify over the next two days.

"You can't kid yourself at the end, that's there's nothing at stake, really," Rose said. "As you get close to the finish line, you know it's up for grabs, and I'm sure it will get tougher and tougher.

"You can still grow in confidence, dealing with what I did today," Rose said. "Going into tomorrow gives me confidence. Hopefully the week will build that way for me rather than go the other way."

Only four Masters champions have won in either their first or second appearances. Rose, a second-timer at Augusta, thinks he can be the fifth.

"I know it makes a difference, but I don't think it's the be-all and end-all," Rose said. "What's the be-all and end-all is executing your shots and playing good golf to win. That's more important than having been here once, twice, three or four times."

As for Weir, he became the first defending champion to miss the cut since Olazabal in 2000. Weir's first-round 79 was the highest opening round by a defending champion in tournament history.

"I was just trying to fight back," said Weir, who missed a medium-range par putt on the 18th hole that would have gotten him to the weekend. "It's a tough golf course today to do that."

Other notables heading down the road after two rounds were Players Championship winner Adam Scott (Stats | Bio) (80-73), Darren Clarke (Stats | Bio) (70-79), British Open champ Ben Curtis (Stats | Bio) (73-77), Nick Faldo (Stats | Bio) (76-75), Tom Watson (Stats | Bio) (76-76) and Len Mattiace (Stats | Bio) , the 2003 runner-up. Mattiace hit just 19 of 36 greens in regulation and shot 76-75-151.

"I need to hit the ball better," Mattiace said. "I'm hitting too many wild shots right now. It's been a lot of work to get it back. It was a special event last year, but that was the past."

Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.