Marc Leishman believes a bit of lady luck on the putting green could see him steamroll further into the lead during the closing rounds of the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
Starting the second round atop the US PGA Tour leaderboard, the Australian world No.12 seemingly couldn't buy a birdie putt on another windy day at Kapalua's Plantation course on Maui - but he managed to grind out a bogey-free, four-under-par 69.
The 34-year-old was joined in a share of the lead at 10 under by American playing partner Brian Harman (68), while world No.1 Dustin Johnson shot 68 to climb to nine-under and the 2013 winner at Kapalua lurks ominously in outright third.
With a win, a second and another top-five result in his past five worldwide starts, in-form Leishman is confident of lower scores and increasing his buffer zone against a star-studded field featuring seven of the world's top 10 golfers.
"Yeah, definitely (if) a few more putts drop and I play the par-5s a little better," he said.
"I saw a few guys shot seven under today, which is a really good score in those conditions.
"I'm looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully I can keep this going."
As Maui's infamous trade winds whipped up, Leishman missed five birdie putts inside 15 feet on Kapalua's unpredictable, bermuda grass greens.
"It's tough, you can hit good putts and get a gust and it can blow five feet past or five feet short of the hole," said Leishman.
"That's how much it can change. So a little bit of luck is (needed)."
Along with big-hitting Johnson, three-time major winner Jordan Spieth is also charging up the leaderboard.
The 2016 champion at Kapalua, bounced back from his opening 75 with a brilliant 66 on day two.
His five-under tournament total leaves Spieth tied for 13th with Spanish ace Jon Rahm (70).
Cameron Smith, the only other Australian in the field, clawed back from a disappointing opening 75 with a 70 on Friday to lift his total to one-under and he is tied for 24th.
Defending champion and world No.3 Justin Thomas limped to a 75 and falls to even-par overall.
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