Australian Brett Rumford continued his hot form at the World Super 6 golf event at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, but tree puncher David Bransdon was Friday's surprise packet.
Rumford, who took a share of the lead on Thursday with an opening round six-under-par 66, produced more gold in his second round to take the outright lead at 13 under.
Bransdon, who produced a sparkling eight-under 64 in his second round, sat one stroke further back.
Steven Jeffress (10 under), Lucas Herbert (nine under) and Johannes Veerman (nine under) rounded out the top five.
Star amateur Curtis Luck (three-under) ensured he would make it through to the weekend after producing a solid 69 in his second round.
But world No.11 Alex Noren missed the cut by one stroke after finishing at one under.
Bransdon, a former top NSW amateur, turned professional in 1995. But, he's hardly set the world on fire.
The 43-year-old has won just two events in his career - the Queensland Open and the Blackburn Heritage Classic.
Although wins have been limited, Bransdon did hit the headlines last decade when he broke his hand while playing a tournament after punching a tree in frustration.
The world No.593 was thrilled with his second round at the World Super 6, with his sights set on earning a seeding heading into the final round.
The Perth tournament features three days of traditional stroke play, before switching to a match-play format in the final round as the top-24 golfers battle it out in a series of six-hole, knockout duels.
The top-eight golfers after round three earn a seeding, meaning they get a bye during the first round of Sunday's match play.
Rumford said he was keen to lock down one of those seedings.
"That's one less lottery round you have to deal with, isn't it?" Rumford said.
"That's definitely a huge bonus qualifying inside that top eight, so it's definitely something I am thinking about.
"That's why it's going to be so unique and so interesting as well. There's sort of cuts within cuts this week."
The tournament is being billed as the first of its kind at this level.
But a similar event was trialled several years ago in Victoria, and Bransdon was one of the players who took part.
"I didn't even make the match play," Bransdon said of that event, which was dubbed the Suncoast Knockout.
"So it would be nice to get to that part of it on Sunday. I'll give myself a good opportunity to get there.
"I've obviously got another round to go, but I'm excited about Sunday."
British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen and former Perth International champion Thorbjorn Olesen are lurking dangerously at seven under.
Robert Allenby (six under) was on track for a big charge up the leaderboard before producing a triple-bogey on the par-5 15th.
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