Exciting young New South Welshman Harrison Endycott enjoys the halfway lead after going 36 holes of the NSW Open without a blemish.
The 22-year-old fired a second-round eight-under-par 64 on Friday at Twin Creeks Golf Club to surge to four under for the championship and a one-stroke lead over Victorian Cameron John.
"It was definitely nice this morning with great scoring conditions. My game has been slowly getting better over the last six months. I really did feel like a low round wasn't far away," Endycott said after reeling off eight birdies for the day.
With his state open marking 12 months since he joined the professional ranks, Endycott tees it up this week a more experienced player.
He has spent 2018 competing on the Latinoamerica PGA TOUR with solid results. In 11 starts, he has made 10 cuts and recorded four top-10 finishes including a runner-up result in September.
"I had a full season over there. It's definitely an interesting Tour, it's challenging off the golf course and it definitely toughens you up as a player," Endycott said.
"I learned how to manage myself away from the golf course in preparation.
"Learning how to get away from the money, this time last year I was always looking at how much I could make whereas the Latin Tour taught me how to get into contention more. I think that has been a huge boost for me and coming into this week it felt a lot easier."
First-round co-leader John also took advantage of the morning scoring conditions, backing up his 66 on day one with a 67 to climb to 11 under.
Sitting one shot further back on 10 under the card is South Australian Brad Moules, who fired six-under 66, and Queenslander Blake Proverbs (67).
Rounding out the top five on the leaderboard are Jake McLeod, Matt Millar and Ashley Hall, who all fired 68 in the second round to be nine under the card.
