Rising Aussie golfer David Micheluzzi was still in the thick of the hunt to lift the Singapore Classic title at halfway after a second-round, two-under-par 70 at the European tour event.
Micheluzzi, the 2022-23 Australasian Order of Merit winner who enjoyed another stunning win at the end of last year in the Vic PGA, was just two off the pace on a crowded leaderboard after Friday's action at the Laguna National Golf Resort Club.
Andy Sullivan was the star of the day, making six birdies and an eagle in a stunning nine-hole stretch, eventually shooting a 63 to share the lead at nine under with fellow Englishman Richard Mansell (69) and Germany's Freddy Schott (69).
But just as in the opening round on Thursday, when he birdied the last three holes, Micheluzzi, the world No.347, had a strong finish to his second round, birdieing three of the last six holes to join five others on seven under.
It's tight at the top, though, with only two shots separating the leading 14 players.
Sullivan was left astonished by his remarkable round. "It was mental,” he said. “It was a really mundane start to the round, playing solid, then all of a sudden it just went ballistic.
“I’ve never had a round where it went mental for that amount of time.”
Sullivan is looking for a fifth European tour title, with his last having come in 2020 at the English Championship.
The leading trio are a stroke ahead of five players: Paul Waring (69) and Sam Bairstow (68) of England, Matthieu Pavon (68) and Romain Langasque (67) of France, and Kiradech Aphibarnrat (72) of Thailand.
Pavon, the world no.27, is the highest-ranked player in the field, having won the Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA Tour in January.
Shane Lowry made the cut, which ended at one under, but only after shooting 73 which left the former British Open champion on two under overall.
Apart from Micheluzzi, the only other Australian to make the weekend's action was Jason Scrivener, whose four-under 68 took him to two under, in joint 49th position.
But Deyen Lawson (74), Thomas Power Horan (71) and John Lyras (73) all missed the cut by a single stroke.
