By Art Spander
Special to NewsdayHoist a glass of Tetley's Bitter.
Have a plate of bangers and mash.
Sing a few choruses of "God Save the Queen.''
Tiger Woods' impressive return to golf notwithstanding, this Masters has taken on an English accent.
Halfway through Masters 2010, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, English to the core, share the lead with 8-under-par totals of 136. If this keeps up, the Waffle House on Riverwatch Parkway may put bubble and squeak on the menu in place of grits.
Only the other day, Westwood said, "I think en masse, we are more equipped to go mob-handed to the major championships now."
What happened Friday at Augusta National lent support to his premise.
Westwood, who will be 37 before the end of April, shot a 3-under 69, which included an eagle 3 on the second hole and a double-bogey 6 on the 14th. The 36-year-old Poulter had a 4-under 68 with five birdies and only one bogey, that coming unfortunately at 18.
So the two Brits, who will be paired in Saturday's round, are two shots ahead of Woods, K.J. Choi, Ricky Barnes, Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson.
"If you had bothered to look at the world rankings,'' Westwood pointed out, "and seen how many English players were up there, and three in the top 10 [Westwood, 4; Paul Casey, 6; Poulter, 7], we're not there by mistake.
"We ought to be contending in these major championships, in the biggest events where the best players contend.''
They are. And they have been.
Poulter, the guy who used to wear trousers made from a Union Jack, finished second to Padraig Harrington in the 2008 British Open. Westwood came within a putt of tying Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate in the 2008 U.S. Open, ending up third, and last year was third in both the British Open, also missing the playoff by a shot, and the PGA Championship.
Winner of the Accenture Match Play in February at Tucson, Poulter was called one of the favorites for this Masters, and that didn't displease him a bit.
"I like that it's going to put a bit of pressure on me,'' Poulter said. "It's going to make me focus. This is a golf course you can't let your mind wander at all, in any way, shape or form. Otherwise, it will penalize you badly.''
Westwood was brilliant a decade ago, even leading the 1999 Masters briefly. He slumped badly in the mid 2000s but came back in 2008.
Asked what a win in a major would mean, Westwood, who has victories on every continent, said, "It's the only thing really missing in my career.''
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