It’s an amazing place, the major championship media zone.  

Managers flit around trying to temper demands on their weary warriors.

Competing electronic and print media try to better each other for the quote that will best serve their cause.

At Augusta National there are the ever-present green jackets of the members whose mission it is to prevent any unsightly scene on their hallowed turf.

And then there are the most important component of the entire maelstrom – the players.

Most are happy enough to talk, even when they’ve fired a heart-breaking round that shatters a long-held green jacket dream.

Unfortunately for Australia, that was the story of Marc Leishman on day two of the 2014 Masters.

While John Senden and Adam Scott again put Australian flags high up on the leaderboard,

Leishman manfully fronted up to answer questions about a time, not so many hours ago, when he was among them.

An extraordinary collapse that cost the Victorian 10 dropped strokes in 12 holes was, as he so eloquently put it, "Crap".

But more than that was his ability to wade through the circus around him and be so self-effacing in the face of what must have been tremendous inner turmoil as he missed the cut by a shot after leading three holes into his second round with three straight birdies.

"Obviously I got off to a good start and I actually hit quite a few good shots throughout the day, but just the wind caught me on a lot of holes," he said after a 79 sent him crashing to five over and outside the cut line by one.

Leishman said he looked at the leaderboard after a roar when he hit the front, but said that hadn’t been the catalyst for his six-bogey, two double-bogey implosion.

"This course … can jump up and grab you at any time. I learned that last year, and learned it this year, as well.

"I got caught on almost every hole with the wind."

"I hit a really good shot into seven and missed the green. Then I hit a good shot into nine and it … just blew straight off the back of the green.

"It started off good, and then after that it went from bad to worse."

Leishman insisted he didn’t give up and, as it turned out, missed a makeable 4m putt on the last that would have given him a weekend lifeline.

"You never know, I could have birdied the last three holes, four holes and got right back to even par and been right in it," he said.

"Obviously I didn’t do that. I shot 41 on the back nine. But I’m not a person to give up."

Nor did Senden, whose two early bogeys could have easily derailed the big Queenslander who has been thereabouts in majors before without ever improving to the final group.

Yet that’s exactly where he’ll be tomorrow alongside leader Bubba Watson after the veteran Aussie posted his Masters career-best 68 with six birdies in his final 14 holes to finish at four under and just three off the pace.

"I just have to stick to the game plan, and that’s doing my job well," Senden said about his booking with the mercurial Watson.

"That’s the only thing I can do. Bubba has his game plan and I think that I should just go out there and concentrate on nothing but hitting shots and hitting putts.

"If I can (focus) well tomorrow that will be great because I know that I can accept the ups and downs during the day.

"I think that’s why we’re at the top. We can deal with it."

For his part, Scott fought back from the brink of Masters disaster to shoot even-par 72 to stay tied for third in his title defence at three under.

Scott looked in deep trouble when he was three over through five holes — the same fate that befell him in last year’s second round.

But conquering the 12th with a birdie 24 hours after it jolted him with a double-bogey sent him surging back in the right direction.

"I was certainly aware of 10, 11, and 12 playing difficult and knew that I had to start hitting some quality shots," Scott said.

"But I hit two really quality shots on the 9th that felt like the best swings I had made to that point.

"I played a really good back nine. It was really solid – a fortunate par, maybe, at the last, but you’ve got to take advantage of a bit of luck out of the trees.

"It wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but given everything, I’m absolutely satisfied with that.

"It just means tomorrow’s round’s extremely important. It’s going to have to be maybe the best round of the week."

More great news came when Oliver Goss became the first Australian to win the Masters low amateur trophy since legendary Jim Ferrier in 1940.

Goss will be the only one of six amateurs who started the Masters to play at the weekend, his 71 ensuring he finished at three over and that he’ll be in the Butler Cabin after the final round.

Steve Bowditch made a bad mental error when he didn’t focus on a tap-in putt for par on the last and missed it, yet still signed for an even-par 72 that kept him around for the weekend.

But a weary Matt Jones won’t be around after he carded a lacklustre 78 to fall to eight over.

The first thing he said afterwards amounted to him being better for the run – and with his world ranking at No.42, it’s a run with which he hopes to become more accustomed.

"Being in that top-50 (and having that win) changes my schedule a lot now. I can pick and choose," he said.

"I can work harder physically on my body now because I’ll have time to do it … and get refreshed and focus on the big tournaments."

Jones, who will play the British Open for the first time, will adopt this new system for the first time when he plays the Scottish Open in the lead-up.

But he’s already focused on a return trip to Augusta National next year.

"Hopefully I’ll get back so I can come out and prepare before the tournament … and not feel quite so tired."