NSW golfer Rebecca Artis has stormed into the outright lead at the halfway point in the Australian Ladies Masters on the Gold Coast.
The 26-year-old shot a brilliant second-round seven-under 66 to move three shots clear of England's Charley Hull and Korea's Eun Woo Choi.
Artis started with a bogey on the par-four first but was unstoppable from there, making eight birdies, including four on her final five holes, to finish at nine-under overall.
A winner on the Ladies European Tour in Sweden in 2013, Artis admits this weekend could be a different prospect.
"It's probably going to be a little different feeling out there for me because with my win in Sweden I came from behind," she said.
"I'll just go out there and focus on hitting fairways and hitting greens and hopefully the putter runs hot."
Artis believes a change of grip in her putting stance, keeping her left hand below her right, has been the key to her solid recent form.
"Now that I'm putting well I feel as if it takes the pressure off my long game," she said.
"Whereas before I felt like I always had to have good ball-striking days to shoot low numbers."
Hull, the 18-year-old European Tour order of merit winner, confirmed her tournament favouritism with a three-under 70 to take a share of the early clubhouse lead with Choi.
The English tyro made three birdies in a bogey-free front nine before mixing three birdies with three bogeys on the back nine.
Despite the up and down nature of her finish, Hull was taking the positives out of her day.
"I've got to remember the good shots I played out there," she said.
"I look at it as plenty of improvement left for the weekend and hopefully I can get real low."
Choi, 19, shot a two-under 71 and is firmly in contention.
It's a reversal of fortune for the former Gold Coast high school student, who was disqualified from her first Masters in 2012 after a preferred lie violation.
The Korean, who shared the first round lead with 18-year-old Victorian Su Oh, made three birdies and one bogey on Friday.
She said her time spent living on the Coast had given her an intimate knowledge of Royal Pines.
"I've played three times (since) the course has been changed," Choi said.
"Three times, for practice round."
Another Englishwoman, Holly Clyburn (71), is a further shot back at five-under in outright fourth while France's Gwladys Nocera (71) and Taiwan's Su-Chia Cheng (69) are also within striking distance at three-under.
Oh was unable to match her opening round display, shooting a two-over 71 to be tied for seventh with five players.
2009 winner Katherine Kirk, back using her own gear after it arrived late from the United States, didn't have a great day, shooting a two-over 75 to be tied 12th at one-under.
Defending champion Cheyenne Woods scraped past the cut after a horror second round 78 left her five shots over par going into the third round.
The 24-year-old will enter the penultimate round in a tie for 62nd and well out of contention.
Four-time LPGA Tour winner Rachel Hetherington's tournament is over after she missed the cut, shooting a two-over 75 to finish six-over.
The 42-year-old, who came out of retirement at the start of the summer, will now head to Melbourne for the Australian Open in the final event of her comeback campaign.
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