Friday 15 February 2019 18:05, UK
Thomas Pieters is among a four-way tie for the lead after round two of the ISPS Handa World Super 6 in Perth.
The Belgian, who starred for Europe's Ryder Cup team in 2016, is chasing a first individual title since 2016 and shot a 66 on Friday to put himself in contention at Lake Karrinyup.
Pieters could have been alone on top of the leaderboard, only to bogey the 17th and drop back to eight-under-par for the tournament.
He is level with New Zealand's Ryan Fox (68), Australian Matthew Griffin (67) and Thailand's Panuphol Pittayarat (66).
England's Richard McEvoy, Scotland's Robert MacIntyre and Australian Matt Jager are a shot off the lead on seven under par.
But first-round leaders Kristoffer Reitan and Miguel Tabuena barely made the halfway cut following rounds of 77 and
78 respectively.
Pieters told Sky Sports: "I putted really nicely today but then near the end I struggled.
"Like I said earlier in the week, I've just struggled to get four good days in one week and hopefully I can do that this week.
"I'm playing nicely and if just keep my head on hopefully we can have a good one tomorrow and then anything can happen on Sunday."
Sunday will see the top 24 players battle it out in six-hole match-play contests to decide the winner, with the top eight qualifiers receiving a bye in the first round.
Matches tied after six holes will be decided using a "shootout" hole which utilises the existing 18th green and a new tee around 90 yards away.
Pieters has notable match-play pedigree after claiming a record four points as Ryder Cup rookie in 2016, but will be taking nothing for granted after halfway leaders Brett Rumford and Lee Westwood failed to make the top 24 last season.
"You can get careless, thinking you've got a lot of room to play with," he said.
"I think I'm going to try and act like it's a strokeplay event and you always want to be in first place. If you're not, I don't think you're mentally taking it the right way."
Fox pledged to take a similar approach as he seeks a first European Tour title, adding: "The last couple of years I've eyed that top 24 and it hasn't worked out very well for me.
"I'll try to aim a little higher this year and see what happens. Certainly, no taking the foot off the pedal."
