Australians fill six of the top seven places at the Open after two rounds but it is far from over.
The hot shooting continued from Thursday with a course record at The Hills yesterday and a high cut mark set at seven under.
The forecast wind and rain never arrived and in calm, hot conditions many in the field went low.
The lead is held by Terry Pilkadaris, who came home hard on The Hills to be one ahead of Callan O’Reilly and Daniel Nisbet.
Tucked in behind are another three Australians and Aucklander Harry Bateman, the first New Zealander.Pilkadaris has hit 64s at both Millbrook and The Hills, to sit on 15 under.
He said his putter got hot yesterday on The Hills and he rode on the momentum.
"It was different conditions from yesterday.
"I finished really well yesterday [Thursday] with five birdies and today a different golf course.
"It was perfect weather, a little bit of breeze for a part there. The course is soft and receptable, the greens are good, so it is going to go low."
He said he was consistent throughout and did not really get into any trouble.
He has not won a tournament for more than a decade but that was not riding on his mind.
"To win a golf tournament you need a little bit of luck and sometimes you get it and sometimes you don’t. There are so many factors to win that have to go your way."
O’Reilly, from Newcastle, tore up The Hills course with a record 61, hitting eight birdies and scoring just 28 in his second nine.
O’Reilly was, naturally enough, happy with his round.
"I played good golf, gave myself good opportunities and made them," he said.
"That is my lowest round ... the birdies were out there. Everyone told me the forecast was going to be horrible for Friday. I was thinking, I am getting the golf course with all the birdies on a wet day.
"I played well in Perth and backed up my card ... that little financial pressure which comes is not there, I am not feeling it, so you just go out and have some fun."
He had never hit a 61 before and broke the course record set by Peter Fowler in 2007.
Nisbet shared the lead after the first round and hit a 66 yesterday.He said conditions were again great and low scores were par for the course.
The key for the next two days was to stay in play.
"Just stay on the fairway and stay out of the bunkers," Nisbet said.
"The rough is pretty long out there too. The birdies are out there if you can stay on the fairway."
If the weather remains calm for the next couple of days, a score of up to 25 under may be needed to win, with so many players in contention.
With 23 players within five shots of the lead, it is shaping up as a shoot-out.
Rain and, more importantly, wind is forecast. It was due to arrive in the past couple of days but it has not set in for any length of time.
