Blake Windred is still in the mix at the Players Amateur but has a huge task ahead to run down tearaway leader Stuart Hagestad.
The Novocastrian added a tidy three under 69 to his opening 65 and sits in a tie for 6th, seven shots behind the Californian Hagestad.
With conditions perfect for scoring, 58 players are in red numbers and spectators are saying they expect the winning score to be at least 20 under if not lower.
it is Hagestad they are all chasing, and after adding a 66 to his unbelievable first round 61. on the Berkeley Hall South Course, the Californian, unbelievably, believes he still has work to do, particularly with the talented names on the leaderboard.
“Everyone in the field is so good, everyone is so talented,” Hagestad told the Island Packet. “You look down the leaderboard, and everyone is a total stud, and they are going to play an awful lot of weekends in their future.”
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The Central Coast’s Jordie Garner made a move, firing a five-under-par 67 to vault into 13th place, just a shot behind WIndred, while Nathan Barbieri added a second two under par round, to sit in 35th.
Josh Armstrong also jumped up the leaderboard. His second round 70 meant a jump into a tie for 39th for the Canberran.
Aussie Contingent
Seven other Australians are in the field at Berkely Hall this week. Two -time NSW Junior Champion Jed Morgan is in a tie for 24th after a second round 69, alongside South Australian Jack Thompson.
Chris Crabtree, Low Amateur at the 2017 NSW Open alongside Windred is in a tie for 35th alongside Barbieri and Victorian Blake Collyer.
The Victorian duo of Andre Lautee and Kyle Michel are in 39th alongside Armstrong, while Aiden Didone is a long way back in 64th.
Two Australians have also had success at this event, with Aron Price (2004) and Daniel Nisbet (2015) on the honour roll of past champions.
The winner of the tournament also secures a start in the 2020 RBC Heritage Classic on the PGA Tour.