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Friday's golf round-up: Australian PGA and Thailand Masters review

Thomas Detry one shot off lead at Thailand Masters

Adam Scott
Image: Adam Scott is just two off the lead in Queensland

Star draws Adam Scott and Cameron Smith fuelled excitement among the home fans at Royal Pines as they moved into contention at the halfway stage of the Australian PGA Championship.

Scott fired a 67 to haul himself to seven under par for the tournament and within two strokes of 36-hole leader, Carl Yuan, whose best-of-the-day 65 was matched by defending champion Smith on a low-scoring second day on the Gold Coast.

Adam Scott
Image: Scott had an eagle and four birdies in his second-round 67

The highlight of Scott's round was an eagle at the 15th hole for the second day running, while the 2013 champion also carded four birdies as he enhanced his chances of a first victory in almost four years.

"It was a good solid round today, which I needed to kind of stay on the pace," said Scott. "Generally played really good today, so I'm pretty happy shooting 67. You should be most times you shoot 67.

Adam Scott
Image: Scott is bidding for a first win since 2016

"I pulled a seven-iron somewhere that I didn't like very much and made a bogey, but other than that I think I pretty much hit 16 greens today, so it was fairly stress-free. I played safe and I rolled a lot of nice putts. A lot went by the edge, but I made a couple as well."

Yuan eagled the ninth and had eight birdies on his card as he earned a one-stroke lead over Anthony Quayle, whose 66 included five birdies in six holes on the front nine, while Scott shares third place with Aussie compatriot Wade Ormsby (69).

Cameron Smith
Image: Cameron Smith fired a 65 to boost his chances of a third straight win

Smith's bid for a third straight victory in the event got off to a rocky start with a disappointing opening 74, but he produced an excellent response as he blitzed the course for seven birdies while avoiding any dropped shots in a 65 that lifted him to five under par - four off the pace heading into the weekend.

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Detry overtaken in Thailand

Thomas Detry lost his lead at the Thailand Masters but heads into the weekend just one shot behind after firing an erratic 68 in the second round at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club in Pattaya.

Thomas Detry
Image: Thomas Detry heads into the weekend one shot behind in Thailand

Home player Phachara Khongwatmai jumped into the outright lead on 12 under at the halfway stage as he fired a seven-birdie 64 while keeping a bogey off his card.

Rising Belgian star Detry led overnight after a superb opening 63, but he mixed six birdies with three dropped shots on Friday to slip into second place, with Kosuke Hamamoto in third after he matched the 64 of the leader.

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"Although I finished with a bogey, I'm still in a very good position heading into the weekend rounds," said Detry, who is flying high on the leaderboard despite being struck down by illness.

"I have not been feeling too well and I got tired towards the end of my round, but I'm still happy with the way I finished. I was one under at one point but managed to make some birdies to lift myself up back into the game again. I'm going to have a good night sleep now and be fresh for the weekend."

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