Connor Syme in 'good spot' as he chases in-form Min Woo Lee in Australian Open

In-form Min Woo Lee stepped up his bid for a dream double by storming into a three-shot lead but Connor Syme reckons he’s still in a “good spot” at the halfway stage in the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.

Lee, who won his third DP World Tour title at last week’s Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, carded a seven-under-par round of 64 at The Australian Golf Club to sit on the top of the leaderboard on 12 under par.

The 2021 Genesis Scottish Open champion, who has Edinburgh man Stuart Davidson on his bag, could be tough to catch as he’s showing exactly why he’s been tipped by some to reach the very top of the ladder.

But, after following his opening 64 with a 70 to sit in joint-second alongside American Patrick Rodgers, Syme is relishing the challenge of trying to catch Lee over the weekend as the 2016 Australian Amateur champion chases a maiden win on the circuit.

Connor Syme pictured during the second round of the ISPS HANDA Australian Open at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images.

“It was really quick out of the blocks, which was obviously brilliant, and then kind of trickier, to be honest,” said Syme of starting his second circuit at The Lakes Golf Club by picking up four birdies in his first five holes before then covering the remaining stretch in two over par.

“I just struggled with my irons a little bit on my second nine and the way the pins are, if you’re a little bit off, it makes it tricky. I had a lot of good par saves but couldn’t really get close enough to make many birdies coming in which was disappointing, but still in a good spot.”

Lee, who started the day four strokes behind first-round leader Cameron Davis, recovered from a bogey on the first hole with a chip-in birdie from a greenside bunker on the fourth and another gain on the eighth to make the turn one under par. He then covered his final eight holes in just 30 strokes and is now aiming to become the first DP World Tour member to win back-to-back events since Christiaan Bezuidenhout in 2020.

“It was unreal,” said the 25-year-old. “I didn’t think that we could beat last week’s crowds, but we’ve very nearly done it before the weekend, so it’s unreal. It’s really fun. Most of my golf has been really good because of the crowd and the support, and I’m really happy for that.

Grant Forrest (71) sits in a share of seventh spot on seven under, four better than Calum Hill (70) but Bob MacIntyre’s calendar year campaign is over after missing the cut by five shots following a 77.

The tournament is also being played concurrently with the ISPS HANDA Women’s Open and also the Australian All Abilities Championship.

In the women’s event, also played across both courses, 2013 champion Jiyai Shin, of South Korea, leads by two strokes on nine under with Scottish duo Kylie Henry and Michele Thomson both making the cut on tw over and four over respectively.

The three-round All Abilities Championship is being held at The Australian, and the final day is finely poised with three players – Irishman Brendan Lawlor and home favourites Cameron Pollard and Lachlan Wood – sharing the lead on one over.