Marc Leishman and John Senden are in contention after two rounds of the Sony Open in Hawaii, but both will have to chase a rejuvenated Brandt Snedeker, who has hit form with a new swing.
Snedeker, who came out to Australia in the summer to play the Australian PGA, but missed the cut has found form in Hawaii to start the season.
Coming off a great weekend at Kapalua, Snedeker played bogey-free Friday and rolled in a couple of long birdie putts that carried him to a five-under 65 and a one-shot lead over Kevin Kisner after two rounds of the Sony Open to be 12-under for the tournament.
"I feel like I'm playing great, so it should be fun," Snedeker said about the weekend at Waialae.
It could be fun for a lot of players.
Two dozen players were separated by five shots at the halfway point including Aussies Senden and Leishman, who are at seven-under the card, while New Zealand ace Danny Lee is eight-under.
Leishman performed best of the trio and like Snedeker fired a bogey-free 65, which included birdies at three of the four final holes and an eagle three on the par-five ninth when he rolled in an 18-foot putt.
British Open champion Zach Johnson (66) and the resurgent Luke Donald (65) were among those two shots behind, while the group three strokes back included Sean O'Hair and 49-year-old Jerry Kelly.
Vijay Singh, who turns 53 next month and can become the PGA Tour's oldest winner, had a 69 and was four behind.
After his Australian PGA failure Snedeker made a full commitment to an overhaul of his setup and worked hard with Butch Harmon.
"Maui being wide open off the tee a little bit helped me get comfortable with it," Snedeker said.
"And then I realised this week ... how it feels, what should happen, and when I do hit a bad shot, I kind of know where it comes from. So I feel way more comfortable with it this week and excited about it, because the bad shots haven't been near as bad as they have been."
Two-time defending champion Jimmy Walker finished with nine straight pars for a 68 to finish on 3-under 137 and make the cut on the number. He was nine shots back.
Cameron Smith, Adam Scott and Steven Bowditch were the remaining Australians to make the cut and all are at four-under, eight shots off the lead.
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