Jack Nicklaus sends support to halfway joint-leader Catriona Matthew in Australia

Catriona Matthew received a message of support from none other than Jack Nicklaus after earning a share of the lead at the halfway stage of the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open.

The evergreen Scot claimed the first win of her professional career at the same tournament 20 years ago, and a second-round 69 at The Grange near Adelaide lifted her alongside Holly Clyburn at the top of the leaderboard on eight under par.

Matthew, 46, eagled the first hole and also carded three birdies and two bogeys to ensure a place in the final group out on Saturday, and she then received a tweet from 18-time major champion Nicklaus.

The most successful golfer of all time was the same age when he stormed to a memorable sixth Masters title at Augusta in 1986, and his tweet to Matthew read: "Hang in there and don't give up, finish strong! Everyone wrote me off at 46!"

Matthew's ball-striking was of the highest quality as she hit 16 greens in regulation and returned one of only eight sub-70 scores on the second day.

The Solheim Cup veteran said: "I think that's the beauty of golf, you can play, it doesn't matter what your age is as long as you can hit the golf ball and still get it in the hole. Age isn't a barrier.

"I'm delighted. When I played my practice round on Tuesday I thought it was a tricky course. Some of the fairways are quite generous but you've really got to try and hit the greens, and that's what I've done the first few days."

English star Clyburn put together the low round of the day, a stunning 65 which featured an eagle at the first, birdies at three of the next four holes and further gains at the ninth and 18th.

Matthew's Solheim Cup team-mate Caroline Masson is in a group of four players one shot off the lead, while Australian veteran Karrie Webb is in contention for a sixth Australian Open title - a solid 71 lifting her to six under.

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England's Charley Hull is four strokes off the pace after a second consecutive 70 in which she hit back from a double-bogey seven at the fifth with three straight birdies from the seventh hole.

World No 1 and defending champion Lydia Ko also matched her opening 70 to join Hull on four under par, while first-round leader SooBin Kim could not match the dizzy heights of her course-record 63 as an error-strewn 77 saw her slip into a tie for 11th.