Mitchell A. Brown made so many birdies on the back-9 today
that even he lost track.

Catching fire in the second round of the South Pacific Export Radler PNG Open, Brown went 9-under in 12 holes thanks to a hot putter.

Brown was 1-over after his opening six holes but closed his front-9 with three consecutive birdies which was a sign of things to come.

On the back-9 he added a further four birdies and an eagle to his scorecard in a hot run which left him even wondering what his score was.

"I didn’t know how many under I was, I was just playing and making birdies," said Brown.

"On the 17^th I had to go through my card to see how many birdies I had, I really didn’t know, but it was a good feeling."

All those birdies were courtesy of a hot putter with Brown requiring just 15 putts on the front-9 and 11 on the back-9 to get into the clubhouse.

"I holed a few putts, I say it all the time, but you have to hole putts," added Brown, who believes his previous experience in Papua New Guinea helped him this year.

"This is my second year and my fourth tournament in PNG and that is a huge benefit. I know what to expect and to keep my head if I miss putts; you learn to deal with it."   

Playing alongside Brown and trying to keep up with him throughout the round was Kristopher Mueck.

"I tried to play my own game but his (Brown) was clearly impressive. He made a lot of putts out there which is great in itself," said Mueck.

"I made birdies at 14 and 15 to try and keep in touch with Mitch. I knew that he was probably leading with the way he was playing."  

The Victorian fired an impressive bogey free 5-under 67 today to be second on the leaderboard and three back of Brown.

"It would have been nice to make birdie on the last but I am sitting alright on the leaderboard. Not having a bogey out there today was probably the most impressive thing," added Mueck.

Playing in the morning field were Lindsay Wilson and Peter Martin who played steady golf to shoot 69 and 67 respectively to be tied third on 7-under the card.

"I just played some solid golf; I didn’t make too many mistakes and surprisingly made a few putts which helps out here," said Wilson.

"I came home pretty strong, I was only even par through 12 holes and then made birdies at 13, 14, 15 and 17 so that was a good way to finish and top off my round."

While Martin added, "I played quite solid today; I never looked like doing anything wrong. It was a stress free round which was nice."

"I just controlled my ball really well today. I probably hit 16 greens in regulation so that helps around the courses in the islands."

Overnight leader Brad Moules fired an even par second round to be tied fifth with Damien Jordan and Aaron Wilkin who had rounds of 70 and 66 respectively today.

Rounding out the top-10 on 5-under the card are Tae Koh, Jake McLeod and amateur Anthony Quayle.

The second round cut was made at 4-over the card with 50 Professionals and three amateurs making the weekend rounds.  

The third round of the South Pacific Export Radler PNG Open tees off at 9.20am with the final group of Brown, Mueck and Wilson on course at 11am.