Jason Scrivener and Nick Flanagan share lead at halfway stage of the Vic Open

Australia's Jason Scrivener shot a six-under-par 66 to take a share of the lead with Nick Flanagan at the halfway stage of the Vic Open.

Starting on the back nine, Scrivener carded six birdies to move to the top of the leaderboard at 13th Beach Golf Links while overnight leader Flanagan kept pace with a round of 68 that included five birdies and a bogey.

"Two solid days' work. Can't really fault it," said Scrivener. "I played nicely, so looking forward to the weekend.

"Any time your game is in a good place and you're constantly making cuts and putting yourself in contention, it's good for confidence.

"Over the last six months I've made big improvements in my game and steadily progressing the last couple of years."

Home players occupied the top five spots, with Wade Ormsby (66) in third place at 13 under, a shot ahead of Matt Jager (66) and Brad Kennedy (65).

James Nitties, who matched Mark Calcavecchia's 10-year-old record with nine successive birdies on Thursday, slipped to tied for 44th place after a round of 74 put him on six under at the European Tour co-sanctioned event.

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In the women's tournament, which is also the second stop on the LPGA circuit, American Kim Kaufman surged ahead with a second straight round of 66. She leads on 13 under, two ahead of Japan's Haru Nomura with local hope Su Oh third a shot further back