It isn't listed among the record rounds at Augusta National Golf Club, but under the circumstances it was enough to impress the best golfer in the world.

Paul Casey plays a practice round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he missed the cut. In three Masters appearances, Casey has finished tied for sixth, missed one cut and tied for tenth. (Jackie Ricciardi/Staff)

Coming off a first-round 79 under extreme course conditions last year, Paul Casey recovered with a second-round 68 that tied for the low round of the day, more than seven strokes better than the field average and six better than playing partner Tiger Woods.

"I can't believe I didn't clip it out, but I read where Tiger said it was one of the best rounds he'd seen at Augusta," Casey said of the score, which earned him a tee time with Tiger for the third consecutive day. "That's pretty good." Shooting low numbers and keeping company with Woods is the kind of thing Casey expects to do in the Masters Tournament. With his suitable strength and high-ball flight, he believes Augusta National is the major venue "that suits me best."

"I love being there," the 30-year-old Englishman said. "It's not easy. It's incredibly difficult, but there is a way to get around that golf course. Maybe they play a few tricks -- front of the green soft and the rest of it firm; sand so white it blinds you -- but that's the way it is and they give you a chance."

Casey found that to be the case when he tied for sixth in his 2004 Masters debut. Last year he tied for 10th despite his woeful start, and he has gained an understanding of the course first explained to him by CBS golf analyst Peter Kostis.

"He said, 'Good golf shots don't get rewarded, but great ones do,' " Casey said. "I've always remembered that. I think he's exactly right. There are times when you hit great golf shots and the golf ball can end up right next to the hole. You've seen that. Other times, it might end up 40, 50 feet away. Should have hit a better shot. Maybe it was a good golf shot, but it wasn't a great one."

Casey was captivated by the club's charms the first time he turned off Washington Road and drove down Magnolia Lane.

"I'm not one who studies the history a lot," he admitted. "I don't know who won what year. I know who the past champions are, but which year did Sandy Lyle win and which year did (Ian Woosnam) win? I kind of get confused.

"But I love it," he added. "I love the tradition. To me, it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The only other place that does that is St. Andrews. There are a lot of great golf courses, but something about Augusta and the tradition and mystique, it's kind of cool."

Becoming a permanent piece of that tradition motivates him. Casey doesn't even know where the champions locker room is in the clubhouse, and he doesn't want to know until he earns the right to enter it with a green jacket on his back.

He likens it to the way he and his Great Britain & Ireland teammates kept their distance from the extravagant Walker Cup trophy until they secured it from the Americans in 1999.

Paul Casey plays a practice round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he missed the cut. In three Masters appearances, Casey has finished tied for sixth, missed one cut and tied for tenth. (Jackie Ricciardi/Staff)

"We figured there's no point touching it until you've earned the right to get a hold of it," he said. "Then you can drink champagne out of it or do whatever you want. So I don't know where the champions locker room is and I don't really have the right to go up there until I've earned that right. But that would be the dream."

So Casey keeps picking the brains of his predecessors and former champions trying to unlock Augusta's secrets. And he relishes each opportunity to stake his claim in its lore.

"I like to enjoy it because I'm only going to get to play a certain number of Masters," he said. "I hope to play every one from now until I retire. I'm only going to have a certain number of chances to win it as well. So I go there and enjoy the challenge."

Now that Ireland's Padraig Harrington has broken an eight-year European drought in the majors with a win at last year's British Open, the time seems right for someone from the old continent to reassert their once-consistent dominion at the Masters.

Would Casey like to start the movement?

"Yes; that's an easy answer," he said. "I think there's numerous Europeans who have the skills for it. Justin Rose played extremely well there last year. I think it's my best opportunity as far as how it sets up for me. We still haven't had a Brit win a major since (Paul) Lawrie (in 1999). So we've got to put that right."