Christchurch amateur Yuki Miya, already with a professional tournament victory on his resume, leads the way at 12-under-par after firing a second round of 4-under-par 67 to follow an opening 63 that he completed early on Friday.
Just one shot behind the 20-year-old is the highest-ranked player in the field this week, the vastly more experienced world No.100 Daniel Hillier, fresh off two top-five finishes on the DP World Tour.
Unhappy with his game, Hillier has still managed rounds of 63-68 in front of an expectant home crowd craving a first New Zealand victory in their national championship since 2017.
Newly married Hillier shares second with Australian duo Travis Smyth (63) and Wade Ormsby (65), while another kiwi hope, Kerry Mountcastle, is just two shots adrift at 10-under-par following a 64 in the near-perfect scoring conditions on Friday.
Miya’s eye-catching performance was capped by a 1m birdie putt on the 18th hole on the Remarkables course, moving him out of a tie at the top of the leaderboard.
The Golf NZ National Academy member may be still an amateur with no immediate plans to turn professional, but he’s had significant exposure to the pro game, lifting the trophy at the Club Car Pegasus Classic on the Jennian Homes Charles Tour last October.
Miya showed great composure on Friday when he bounced back from a double-bogey five on the par-3 sixth with a run of three straight birdies that started two holes later.
“That double set me back a bit. I definitely had to regroup after that one, but I clawed my way back,” he said.
“Obviously there’s a long way to go, still 36 holes to play, but I’ll do my best, stick to my processes and see how it goes.”
Hillier’s only bogey in his second round came on his final hole, the water-ringed par-3 ninth hole on the Remarkables which will be the closing hole on the composite course over the weekend.
After struggling with his swing for most of the day, his tee shot found the hazard to the left of the green, but a four was rescued by a tidy chip and putt.
“Probably should have happened a lot earlier than it did,” he said of his last hole error.
“The swing wasn’t feeling that great. I stood up on the tee and tried to hold one up against the wind and just flipped it a bit and away she went. But a nice little up and down at least to limit the damage.”
Hillier’s day did have plenty of highlights, however, including an eagle on the par-5 14th to sit alongside four birdies.
“It’s been a long couple of days. Obviously a lot of golf crammed into a short period of time,” he said.
“A little bit tired at the moment, but nice to hang in there today. Hopefully get some good rest and come out firing tomorrow.”
A top-10 machine on the Asian Tour, Smyth does not expect to have too much crowd support on his side on the weekend as he chases his second victory as a pro with three New Zealanders amongst his chief competition.
“It’s going to be fun,” he said after closing with four straight birdies.
“It’s not going to worry me at all. I’ve played in Korea towards the last groups and you get literally zero claps from the Koreans over there
“I feel like the crowds this week, they’re pretty supportive of good golf and hopefully I can show them good golf.”
Ormsby finished his round after sunset, rolling in birdies on the 16th and 17th before missing from three metres on the last to tie Miya at the top.
Further back in the field, one of the pre-tournament favourites, Australia’s Lucas Herbert, moved into contention with a 6-under-par 65, including a back nine of just 30 shots, to be 7-under overall.
His playing partner, defending champion, Ryan Peake will miss the halfway cut after rounds of 71-71.
