Denmark's Thomas Bjorn has given himself a golden opportunity to win the Heineken Classic in Perth for the second time in three years.
A second successive 68 at The Vines yesterday lifted Bjorn into a one-stroke lead over New Zealander Michael Campbell at the halfway stage of the Stg£730,000 tournament.
Bjorn, who beat Sergio Garcia in a play-off for the Dunlop Phoenix title in Japan in November, stands on the eight-under-par total of 138.
While the three overnight leaders - Australians Geoff Ogilvy, Chris Gray and Wayne Smith - all failed to break par, Campbell added a 69 to his opening 68 to maintain his challenge for a third victory in three months after successes in the Johnnie Walker Classic and New Zealand Open.
The pair were tied with a hole to play. Both were bunkered in two at the par-five 18th, but while Campbell failed to get up and down Bjorn splashed out to six feet and made it for his sixth birdie of the day.
Paul McGinley added a 70 to his first-round 71 to stand on 141, just five shots off the lead.
But fellow Rathfarnham man Padraig Harrington failed to make the cut, despite scoring a 69. His first-round 80 was too much to overcome.
Meanwhile Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal missed the cut after improving only three strokes on his first-day 75, but Greg Norman birdied the final three holes to make it through with one shot to spare.
Norman was without his regular caddie Tony Navarro, who left the course just before the Australian star teed off again after hearing that his three-week-old daughter was ill in the US. Nick Faldo's former bagman Andy Prodger agreed to take over just minutes after completing a round with Barry Lane.
As the temperature rose towards 100 degrees, 48-year-old Prodger made it through okay, but admitted at the close: "I'm knackered."
With Lane missing the cut, he will continue to work for Norman over the weekend.
British Open champion Paul Lawrie and pre-tournament favourite Ernie Els are both on the three-under-par mark of 141, Lawrie after a 71 and Els following a 69.
Little-known Swede Johan Skold and German Alex Cejka are joint third on six under, while Australians Mike Clayton, Peter O'Malley and Stephen Leaney are one further back along with Austrian Markus Brier.
Clayton said that his wife might kill him if he wins.
Victory would make the 42year-old from Melbourne exempt for the European tour for the next two years, but after spending over a decade travelling that circuit before settling back in his home country a return is not something he has contemplated. And certainly not something his wife Debbie wants.
