Curtis Luck says a dose of perspective at the beginning of the year has eased the pressure of his first full season playing on the US PGA Tour.
Luck secured a promotion last year through the secondary Web.com Tour finals but found his first handful of events difficult, missing four cuts from six events.
But the laid-back Perth 22-year-old has found himself well in the mix through two rounds at California's Pebble Beach Pro Am.
Luck sits six-under-par and four shots off the lead, having posted a hot second round 67 at the difficult Spyglass Hill course.
Luck finished his round on Friday before US PGA Tour officials suspended play with heavy rain lashing California's Monterey Peninsula.
"I made it really easy on myself today; I hit a lot of good shots off the tee, solid iron shots and although I could have putted better, I've set myself up for the weekend," Luck said.
Multiple major winners Phil Mickelson (68) and Jordan Spieth headline a five-way tie for the lead at 10-under-par that includes England veteran Paul Casey (64), Lucas Glover (66) and Scott Langley (69).
Spieth (through 16 holes) and Australia's Jason Day (15 holes), who is one shot back, were among those who will have to finish rounds at 7.10am on Saturday and play the third round immediately after.
Luck is a former world No.1 amateur who won the elite US Amateur and the professional Western Australian Open.
He is now part of the cut-throat Web.com Tour graduate reshuffle - a pool of players who receive PGA Tour starts on a performance-based ranking.
On the PGA Tour, the top 125 players on the season-long FedEx Cup points tally, retain their playing privileges for the following season.
But Luck said a return to Australia over Christmas helped him forget about keeping his PGA Tour card, instead focusing on improving each season.
"It was just a patch. I had a bit of time to think when I went back to Australia over Christmas," Luck said.
"I probably got caught up in thinking the pressure was on in the top 125 at the end of the season to keep my PGA Tour card.
"But I realised that was completely the wrong attitude."
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