Australian No.1 Minjee Lee is in the box seat to claim a second women's Vic Open golf title after surging to the top of the leaderboard midway through the second round at 13th Beach.
Lee, 21, shot a six-under 67 on Friday to be at nine-under 137, having gone 36 holes without a single bogey.
Lee's playing partner Marianne Skarpnord from Norway carded a 69 on Friday to move into a tie for second at six under, with overnight leader Beth Allen from the United States.
"I love coming back here," said Lee who won the 2014 Vic Open as an amateur and has since gone on to claim three victories as a pro on the US LPGA Tour.
"I have two good rounds under my belt and hopefully I can have another two good rounds.
"I holed a couple more putts but I did miss a couple more greens today."
Skarpnord, the 2015 Vic Open champ, said she was saved from a higher score on Friday by a hot putter.
"Minjee played well - she holed putts from everywhere," the Norwegian said.
"My thought was to just try not to fall too far behind, just try and keep going at her pace, which is hard.
"But I did a fairly good job considering I didn't hit the ball that well."
