THE AUGUST members of Augusta National are, quite rightly, fussy about who gets to own a green jacket. If an application spec was formatted, it would probably include patience; although the primary attribute – an ability to play golf as its founder Bobby Jones did – would ensure that only the most deserving of professionals would get to have the garment placed on broad shoulders.

Yesterday, as this 73rd edition of the US Masters reached its midpoint, the jockeying for position left Americans Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry jointly atop the leader-board – on 135, nine under par – and, yet, the most captivating tales of all were of those cast in the roles of chasers and those who saw dreams crushed by the fickle temptress that is this course.

After all, how can you explain the record 11 birdies amassed by Anthony Kim in a best-of-the-day 65 that catapulted him into contention; or the grandstand seat he had in witnessing Rory McIlroy, one of his playing partners, suffer cruelly at the hands of the course. The 19-year-old Ulsterman flittered away five shots in his closing three holes, eventually finishing on 73 – for 145, one over – that left him scraping into the weekend on the cut mark.

Oh, how different it could have been. For much of his round, McIlroy had played majestically. When he stood on the 16th tee, his played had moved him to four-under and into the thick of the hunt. He was a contender. But this game can devour you when you least expect it. And McIlroy learned an expensive lesson: a four-putt double-bogey on the 16th was followed inside half-an-hour by a triple bogey on the 18th.

“I don’t feel like talking right now,” said McIlroy, hurrying for the sanctuary of the clubhouse and a chance to stop his brain from racing. If he’d bothered to look back, he would seen the sympathy etched across the faces of those camped behind the 18th green.

If there was an consolation for McIlroy, it was that others suffered a similar fate as the course turned from pussycat to lion. On Thursday, the scoring average was 72. Yesterday, it rose two strokes to 74, with the 12th – playing half a stroke above its par – ranked the most difficult.

On a day when the winds whistled through the pines, with gusts forcing players to back off and remain patient, players were forced to work for any favours. Yet, Kim, a mainstay of last year’s US Ryder Cup winning team, managed to defy the elements with a round of 65 that featured 11 birdies, a record for any round at the Masters. It represented a 10 shot improvement on his opening round and moved him into the top-10, on four-under-par 140, five behind the leaders.

For Tiger Woods, the day was more frustrating. The world’s number one struggled with his distance control on approach shots and also had a poor day with his putter, eventually signing for a 72 that left him on 142. Although it left him seven shots behind Campbell and Perry, it should be noted that three of Woods’s four previous Masters wins have come from behind. The biggest margin he made up was in 2005, when he recovered from a six shot midway deficit to defeat Chris DiMarco in a play-off.

“Tough conditions, difficult all the way around,” assessed Woods of a frustrating day at the office. “I’ve got to play a little bit better than I have. I’ve to make a few more putts, got to clean up my round. But you’ve got to play smart. Birdies can be had if you time the wind correctly, hit a good shot. But you’ve got to be smart about it.”

Is seven a seven shot deficit doable? “Yeah!”

While McIlroy had his trials and tribulations late on in his round, Graeme McDowell – assuming the mantel of principal Irish challenger after a second-round 73 for 142, two under – was also disappointed with a finish that saw him leak shots on the run-in for the second successive day.

“You have to learn to deal with it, as you can’t get the ball in the right place all day every day in this wind . . . but I’ll take this and see where I need to be for the weekend.”

McDowell got to five under par for the tournament after 13 holes of his second round but suffered three bogeys in the closing five holes. However, the problems with the wind was demonstrated on the 15th where, from the middle of the fairway, he hit a hybrid approach some 40 yards over the green and close to the hazard by the 16th. “It was horrible, I was happy to walk off with a six,” he said.

McDowell, indeed, is relishing the challenge ahead. “Four years on, I feel like a better player,” he said, referring to his missed cut here in 2005 on his only previous visit. “I think I’ve shown that the last couple of days. You always want to put your game to the ultimate test and this is it. I’m in position going into the weekend and that’s all you can ask for. There’s no point leading this evening or tomorrow evening. Sunday is what it is all about, and that is what I am aiming for.”

Pádraig Harrington added a second round 73 to his opening 69 to join McDowell and Woods on two-under, but the British Open and US PGA champion picked up an unfortunate penalty in the latter stages of his round.

At the par-five 15th his ball moved while he addressed his birdie putt and was left with no option but to call in the officials. Instead of a birdie putt, he accepted the one-shot penalty and still made par. He went on to bogey the 17th and his day was summed up when he horseshoed for birdie at the 18th.