Aussie Steven Bowditch&aposs early mark of 10-under stood the test of time but countryman Paul Sheehan is breathing down his neck at the halfway stage of the Michael Hill New Zealand Open. With conditions nowhere near the blustery winds that lashed the course on Thursday afternoon and caused havoc for the late starters, Bowditch might&aposve expected to see his lead dwindle after signing for a course-record seven-under 65 earlier in the day. However, he stepped off The Hills course with a four-stroke lead and stayed at the top of the leaderboard for the rest of the day. Beginning his round with a birdie at the par-five first, Bowditch was solid, if not spectacular, through his first eight holes to remain at even pair. However, he caught fire and reeled off five straight birdies from the ninth hole to the 13th, following that up with two more in a row at the 301m par-four 15th when he drove the green, then nailing his tee shot on the par-three 16th to three feet. “I&aposve been practising good and doing everything I need to do to compete at a high level but haven&apost been able to put it on the golf course,” Bowditch said. “The last couple of days I just went out there and had fun, still put in all the work but played like I didn&apost care to a certain degree.” Breathing down his neck is Thursday&aposs overnight leader Sheehan, who put together a bogey-free round of five-under 67 to better his opening round 68. One further back is Kiwi Michael Long, again the best of the New Zealand finishers. He finished his round in style, birdying the 17th then, after spraying his tee shot way right on 18, produced a stunning approach to three feet and duly nailed the putt. Equal fourth on six-under is Scot Peter Whiteford the leader early in the day before Bowditch hopped on the birdie train Aussies Ewan Porter and Gary Simpson along with Englishman Richard Finch, who equalled Bowditch&aposs course record an hour after it was broken. Finch, paired with Michael Campbell and Peter O&aposMalley, outshone his more vaunted rivals and did in front of a large gallery gathered to spur on Campbell. Rather than boosting their hometown hero, the large crowd gathered instead served to inspire Finch. “I think you try not to but inevitably you do. It was great to play with them and that amount of people probably does make you focus more than if you&aposre off the back of the field and on your own,” Finch said. However, his Kiwi partner did not fare so well. Campbell was the epitome of inconsistency in his second round, recording three birdies, four bogeys and a disastrous triple bogey on 18 to record a four-over 75. Campbell&aposs hopes are gone as he has missed the cut, but that&aposs not the case for 71-year-old legend Sir Bob Charles. Only agreeing to play at the Open after long consideration, the 71-year-old shot a masterful four-under 68 that rolled the clock back to his younger days. “I didn&apost want to come here and embarrass myself. The competition does get me fired up and the way the golf course set up helped me considerably,” Charles said. “The old adrenaline starts to flow with the competition and I almost felt 30 years younger today. It&aposs something which I enjoy and get a lot of pride from.” Long perhaps summed up Charles&apos efforts up best, saying &aposif Tiger Woods is a freak, Bob Charles can&apost be far behind.” Charles also sent the historians scurrying through the archives to see whether he is the oldest player in a European Tour-sanctioned event to make the halfway cut. The shot of the day, and almost certainly the tournament, went to Aussie Steven Jeffress after an incredible hole-in-one at the 301m par-four 15th. His shot gave momentum to his round and finished overall on five-under after a 68. It was the second ace of the tournament after countryman Martin Doyle hit the perfect shot at the par-three seventh on Thursday morning. Two New Zealanders were the only amateurs to make the cut, which fell at one-over. Danny Lee&aposs second round 71 saw him through at even-par, while Nick Gillespie&aposs outstanding 67, bettered by only three players on the day, snuck him in right on the bubble.