South Australian rookie Professional Antonio Murdaca leads
the Nexus Risk TSA Group WA Open, but he has two eager West Aussie amateurs
snapping at his heels.

Out on course early this morning Murdaca capitalised on the
calm conditions to lead following the second round.

Starting the day on 5-under the card and just one shot off
the lead, Murdaca posted his second 65 to be leading on 10-under the card.

Seizing his birdie opportunities and a touch of luck helped
Murdaca at the Western Australian Golf Club.

"Today was good. I stood on the first tee this morning and
it didn’t seem as windy, so I thought there could be a low one out there," said
Murdaca.

"I played some solid golf. I got a bit lucky on 12; I got a
free drop from a staked tree and made a birdie."

"The back-9 was pretty cruisey, I didn’t do too much there.
The front-9 I opened with a bogey then had three birdies on the trot so that
was a good stretch."

While Murdaca’s tournament is only halfway completed he is
happy to see his name at the top of the leader board, a win this week setting
up his next two years.

"I haven’t seen my name on the top of the leader board for a
little while but there is a lot of golf to be played," added Murdaca.

"A successful week would be awesome, getting a card for two
years on the PGA Tour of Australasia and having somewhere to play."

Sitting just a shot behind Murdaca is Western Australian
Golf Club employee and WA state team member, Haydn Barron.

"It was a pretty solid round today. I made a good par putt
on 10 to get me going and made my first bogey on 13," said Barron.

"It was almost a relief to get that out of the way. I said
to my caddy that we could get going now and I managed to turn in even par which
was good."

The 21-year-old is a relaxed man on course, enjoying the
home crowd attention and sticking to his course management strategy.

"It’s definitely easier than if it was played at another
course. There has been a lot of members following me and supporting me which I
thrive off," added Barron.

"Coming up the last yesterday I felt like I was playing 9
holes after work, it was pretty chilled."

"I am trying to play as similar to usual as I can. I spoke
to Matt Jager early in the week and he said to play the course as I normally
would and not take too many extra precautions, so that’s what I have done."

Joining Barron on 9-under the card is fellow amateur Curtis
Luck who fired 6-under 64 thanks to some solid putting.

"I holed a couple more putts today which made the big
difference. My ball striking probably wasn’t as good as yesterday but I still
managed to hit it close enough to have a few birdies," said Luck, who is
looking forward to a tee time with his mate.

"I would love to play with Baz (Haydn Barron), it would be
awesome, we will see what the draw has in store for me tonight."

"It’s exciting, I can’t wait to get out there on the weekend
and give it another go"

The second round cut was made at 2-over the card with 53 Professionals and 17 amateurs making the weekend rounds.

The third round of the Nexus Risk TSA Group WA Open will tee off at 9am with the lead group of Murdaca, Barron and Luck on course at 10.50am.