With the world No 1 Tiger Woods in one pairing and Phil Mickelson in another, there weren’t many who followed Paul Casey as he plotted his way around Augusta National yesterday. A pity, because it was a wonderful procession up the leaderboard. It didn’t bother the 30-year-old Englishman that so few were watching as he offered further proof of his prodigious talent.

As he was four years ago on this course, Casey is again in position to win his first major. Standing just 5ft 10in, he is not a big man but he is powerfully built, and he plays the game that big men play. He drives the ball considerable distances, has the strength and swing to hit his irons high, which is a distinct advantage on Augusta’s firm greens, and his putting has been solid. But in this game, the mental test transcends all and Casey has long seemed the toughest competitor from a generation of talented young English players.

That was evident in much that he did yesterday. Consider how he felt after failing to take advantage of an excellent approach that got him to the edge of the par-five eighth green. He should have made birdie but didn’t get his chip close enough and then missed the putt.

Disappointed? If he was, it wasn’t apparent in the drive that soared 300 yards and split the ninth fairway. His approach then pitched 2ft from the pin, spun back to 5ft and he made the putt for birdie. Every time he made a birdie, and there were six in all, he acknowledged the applause with an understated wave of his right hand.

That attitude was as much part of his round as his sure ball-striking. He made his first mistake on the 11th, failing to get down in two putts when leaving himself in a bad place at the front edge of a green with a back pin placement. It is after the bad moments, however, that the game X-rays a man’s mind and Casey stood on the 12th tee, which is always a tough place on this course, and hit a fine shot to 12ft.

It was what followed his par on the 12th that offered the most convincing evidence that he will be a contender when the tournament heads down the stretch this evening. He hit his tee shot on the 13th onto the pine needles, then laid up as he had to before coolly pitching and putting for his birdie. The disappointment of the 11th had been put behind him: it was impressive, because this is a brutally tough golf course and the questions it asks are unrelenting. To understand what it can do to players, put yourself in the mind of Justin Rose in the moments before his tournament unravelled late on Friday. Remember also that Rose may be the most gifted ball-striker of all the Europeans who now play the game for a living.

When he got to his ball on the 15th fairway he had a dilemma. He was playing a par five that over the opening two days was the easiest hole on the course, his ball was about 235 yards from the green and though it would be tough to carry the water in front, it wasn’t impossible. At the time, Rose was very much in the tournament, two under par and six shots off the lead. Opting to play the percentages, Rose laid up with his second shot. Perhaps he had misgivings about the decision because he didn’t concentrate on his lay-up, struck it too far and gave himself a difficult pitch from a severe downslope.

That was when his mind took over and the fear of missing the shot banished every other thought. This is a 27-year-old with a beautifully fluent golf swing who hardly knows what it is like to miss a shot. At that moment, however, he wasn’t Justin Rose but a young man riddled by self-doubt. He struck a shot that you or I might have hit, his club digging into the turf, the ball travelling limply through the air before dropping like a dead duck into the water.

At that moment, it was hard not to turn away because the next shot would be no easier and Rose made a hash of that too. From the easiest hole on the course he walked away with a triple-bogey and the three-putt on the next green wasn’t unrelated.One moment’s self-doubt and the first-round leader’s tournament went up in smoke. If Rose’s collapse lessened our belief in a talented group of young English players, Casey’s resilience through yesterday’s third round restored it and Casey hasn’t been the only Englishman of his generation to perform well this week. Ian Poulter and Nick Dougherty have played well and shown they have the game and the mentality to contend in future majors.

It is, however, Casey who remains the most likely because he has that attitude, he has also spent more time than any of the others in the US and he has the experience of having contended at Augusta in 2004. On that Sunday afternoon four years ago, when Mickelson and Ernie Els were shooting birdies through the back nine, the then 26-year-old Englishman wasn’t ready for what he faced. Still, he finished in a tie for sixth and left you with the impression he would be back. This season he has not played well but is talented enough to sort things out in time for the biggest tournaments.Much of his play is distinguished by a fearlessness that will help him if he can stay in contention and maintain it at the tournament’s 11th hour. “I’ve always liked the more difficult golf courses,” he said. “I like the challenge and I see this as a challenge. If something suits your eye and you enjoy being here, then you are going to play better golf. I enjoy being here.”

Poulter, too, has enjoyed the last few days. For so long his self-belief seemed greater than his talent but he continues to confound us. He struggled yesterday, especially on the greens, but he is still in a position to better his 13th place of 12 months ago. Dougherty is talented, something that was obvious from his top-10 finish in last years’ US Open. He is the youngest member of the Casey, Poulter generation and who is to say that he won’t climb the highest? His belief is that the question is when rather than if someone from the current generation wins a major. “I believe it will happen, yeah,” he said. “Inevitably. There are too many, if it was just one guy, but with so many I just think it’s got to be. Whether it be this year, in two years, five years’ time, it will happen.”

There was a golden generation of British golfers in the modern era and they came in the 1980s and early 1990s. Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam and Sandy Lyle were the spearhead of that generation and it is not unremarkable that Woosnam and Lyle, in their golfing dotage, should have both made the cut.

Faldo was a true great, Woosnam and Lyle were naturally gifted ball-strikers and they are the measure by which we judge today’s generation. There should also be an acceptance that majors are very rarely won by players who haven’t served some time towards the top of the leaderboard on days that matter. How many times did Padraig Harrington knock on the door before it opened last summer?

This week hasn’t been easy for Casey, Poulter, Dougherty and especially Justin Rose, but for English golf it has been a momentous week. Three of its best young players have performed on a great stage and Casey has put himself in position to be the star performer. If it were anyone else, you might worry. With him, you can sit back in the reasonable expectation of enjoying the experience.