Min Woo Lee will take a one shot lead into the weekend over compatriot Adam Scott after a five under 66 on day two at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship
The Australian, who is a two-time winner on the DP World Tour, quickly built on his opening round of 65 to set the pace in front of home crowds with four birdies in a flawless front-nine 32 in windy condition.
His first mistake came at the tenth but he recovered with two more gains at the 13th and 15th holes before requiring three par saves over the closing stretch to keep his nose in front at the mid-way stage.
"Just hit a couple bad swings on the last three holes, but overall, really happy with the way I went," Lee reflected after his round.
"Very solid and kept doing the right things. Today was a bit more shaky than yesterday, but felt like I've made up and down when I needed to.
"Yeah, again, you've got to be smart and aggressive when you can. So this course, sometimes it does make you play a bit more aggressive and that's where it bites you. So it's a course where you just have to play with your brain and just attack the pin from the right spots".
The 25-year-old, who is seeking a second victory on home soil to add to his 2020 ISPS HANDA Vic Open success, has finished inside the top five in both of his previous starts in this event.
Adding to confidence of past results is his current form, recently capping off an impressive season with a tied 15th in last week's season-ending DP World Tour Championship to end the 2023 season in tenth place on the Race to Dubai Rankings.
Now poised at the top heading into the weekend, Lee will tee up with Former Masters Tournament winner Adam Scott, who carded a six under par 65 to move to within one stroke of the lead.
"Yeah, every time I'm with Scotty, it's good times and yeah, I'm, I'm going to be looking at his swing all day and chatting away, but yeah, he's a good bloke and hopefully I can play some good rounds to finish"
Scott, whose bogey-free round was the best of the day over Royal Queensland, is searching to complete a hat-trick of Joe Kirkwood Cup victories this week. He first won this event in 2013, the same year as his triumph at Augusta National, and again in 2019.
With his round highlighted by hitting the pin at the par-four 12th with his drive and a great par save after landing in a divot on the 14th, Scott similarly carded four birdies on his front-nine and more at the 10th and 12th before finishing his day with six consecutive pars.
Crediting his play in the wind, Scot said that he felt comfortable with every part of his game.
"It all felt pretty good," Scott said.
"I mean, in these conditions, that's good stuff. I mean, I felt comfortable tee through the green today. There were a couple of holes there on the back, 13 and 14 that were kind of huge for the round, just to keep it going because the birdies weren't easy at the end, obviously. Yeah. But I'm really pleased with the way the game feels. And that's positive going into the weekend."
John Lyras currently occupies third place on the leaderboard on ten under, with Australian duo Lucas Herbert and Curtis Luck two further back alongside first-round leader Joel Moscatel.
