Paul Casey was one of the Englishmen crowding the leaderboard Thursday, and though fellow countryman Justin Rose struggled Friday, Casey plowed through. (Redington/Getty Images)

He's had two top-10 finishes here at the Masters -- in 2004 and 2007. He's coming off a tie for 10th at last year's U.S. Open. And, while he's not had as much success at the Open Championship and PGA Championship, he's working on it.

The 30-year old -- who splits his time between Weybridge, England and Scottsdale, Ariz. -- is one of four Englishmen sitting in the top-10 after two rounds of the 2008 Masters.

Casey opened with a 71, which was four shots better than his previous best opening round, and then followed it with a 69 on Friday.

"I think four-off the lead is not bad,'' he said of the difference between himself and leader Trevor Immelman. "It's in contention. There's a lot of golf to be played yet, and I think it's fair to say that I've played in great conditions for the last two days.

"I mean, the wind is picking up a bit now, but it hasn't affected any of my shots. (No.) 15 was probably the first time we really felt it. We got caught out with the wind there, but I still made birdie. We thought it was into; clearly it wasn't.''

The course sets up well for Casey with his high and left-to-right shots, and he's always loved to play the tough courses. Yet this year, his best finish is a tie for ninth -- at the World Golf Championships -- Accenture Match Play Championship, and the HSBC Champions on the European Tour. The rest have been missed cuts or middle-of-the-pack finishes.

"The reason I've played the golf I have in past years (here) is because I've put myself behind the 8 ball, so nothing to lose,'' Casey said. "And sort of horrible statistics, such as in probably the low man over the final 54 holes and things like that, which is great when you start with a 78.

"So very different, different mindset now (for me). I feel I can't be as aggressive, but that's why I'm very happy with today's round. Plus I know my way around the golf course well, and I didn't really make any mistakes. Mistakes such as being over the green on 15 is not a bad mistake. I got caught out by the wind, and I'd rather be long than short. I was almost underneath (CBS' David) Feherty's tower (at the 15th) , a good 10, 12 yards over the green. ''

He worked with CBS' Peter Kostis for the last two weeks, and it's paying off.

"He's probably sitting in his tower on 13 right now,'' Casey said when he finished. "He saw some of it on TV and just said it was a very solid round of golf yesterday, and today was more of the same, simple as that. "

As for being in contention? It's never easy, especially at a major.

"It's not really a test of self belief,'' he said. "I'm putting in a lot of work, incredible amounts of work. That's golf. Sometimes it's ups and downs. It's not disastrous, it just hasn't really clicked yet

"I'm not worried. This is the first major of the year, so we have a lot of golf to play this season. I think this year, by the end of the year, I'll be very happy with it; plodding along showing some good signs of play, and hit some poor shots, but I'm not worried. This is the first major of the year, so we have a lot of golf to play this season.''

Weather is due to come in Saturday afternoon. That, coupled with the wind coming, means perfect scoring conditions -- at least at Augusta -- where Casey said he's never seen the course cross the line.

"They have the technology to do so under the ground,'' he said. "You know, although this golf course is incredibly difficult, and some might say right on the edge, I've never seen it go too far."