Cam Davis is just three strokes off the lead in a tie for fourth chasing his second PGA TOUR title at the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas as Min Woo Lee posted six-under 65 to be in a share of fifth through two rounds of the DP World Tour’s Open de Espana in Madrid, Spain.

Both Davis and Lee are confirmed starters on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia this summer and both have tasted success on home soil in the past.

Davis was a shock winner of the 2017 Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club while Lee snared the first of his two DP World Tour titles with victory at the co-sanctioned Vic Open in 2020.

Two of the rising stars in Australian golf have recorded wins since and are once again in the hunt on their respective tours.

Buoyed by his breakout performance on debut at the Presidents Cup, Davis is 10-under through two rounds at TPC Summerlin to be three strokes back of International teammate Mito Pereira (63) having finished his round with a share of the lead.

Davis has played holes 13-17 in 10-under par through the first 36 holes and cashed in handsomely in the Vegas desert on Friday, playing the five-hole stretch in six-under par.

At the centre of that impressive run was an eagle at the 312-yard par-4 15th where he drove the green and made the putt from just inside 11 feet.

“It’s a perfect club,” said Davis, who adopted a similar approach in two-putting from 70 feet for birdie in Round 1.

“It landed on the front of the green perfectly and rolled up onto the top tier, which is everything I could have asked for.

“It was really nice to make a sliding 10-footer for eagle. They always boost your round pretty

well.”

Although the International team once again suffered Presidents Cup defeat at the hands of the powerful US team at Quail Hollow two weeks ago, Davis was one of the shining stars.

The golf he delivered under the most intense pressure he has experienced in his career not only kept the International team competitive, but promises to further elevate his game in the years to come.

“It’s always great to experience playing really good golf under the highest pressure that I’ve

experienced playing this game,” said Davis, whose sole PGA TOUR win to date came last year at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

“It was so much fun being in that environment, but to actually have a few stretches there where I played some awesome golf… It’s one thing to tell yourself you can do it, but another thing to experience it.

“It’s just a few more memories in the back of my mind whenever I’m trying to hit an important shot that I can do this.”

Lee also received a shot of confidence after going toe-to-toe with former world No.1 Jon Rahm for the first two rounds in his home Open.

Lee’s six-under 65 was three better than Rahm in the second round, the pair both heading into the weekend in a share of fifth and just two strokes off the lead.

As was the case in Round 1, the 24-year-old West Australian did the bulk of his best work on the front nine, going out in four-under before adding three further birdies and a lone bogey at the par-4 12th.

At the Epson Tour Championship in Florida both Gabriela Ruffels and Robyn Choi have lost ground on the projected Order of Merit despite advancing to the weekend.

Grace Kim will have a somewhat nervous wait to see if she holds onto one of the seven remaining LPGA Tour cards on offer after missing the cut while Ruffels and Choi need to make a move in the final two rounds.

Ruffels is the best-placed Aussie in a tie for 10th after a second round of four-under 68 while Choi is tied for 23rd at seven-under after rounds of 68-69.

Marc Leishman (66, T4) and Jed Morgan (67, T6) have displayed encouraging returns to form in the first round of the LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok in Thailand and Anthony Quayle’s tie for 16th is the best of the Aussies through two rounds of the For The Players By The Players on the Japan Golf Tour.