Terry Pilkadaris (65, 12-under)

On racing daylight to finish his second round

“I had a 10-ffoter for birdie on the seventh hole and then two-putted the eighth in the dark. I didn’t want to have to come back in the morning at 7.30 to play one hole and then wait around to tee off again at 12.30. Jason Norris missed the cut but he asked what I wanted to do and I said, ‘Let’s go. Let’s get through.’ Steve Jeffress was in front of us and he told us to hit so we played the last hole with them, which was nice of them. The last three holes were a par 5, medium par 4 and long par 4 and I reckon we played them in 20 minutes. Jason putted out on seven and then went and hit his ball off the tee so I took my time with my putt and then played out the last hole.”

On the two suspensions of play mid-round

“I birdied nine and 11 and then hit a great drive down 12. I had 215 to the hole but the ball was above my feet and on an upslope but it was down breeze. I was going to hit 3-iron, get it over the hill and let it run down to the green but then they blew the buzzer. We went inside for an hour-and-a-half, came out and it’s raining and the wind’s blowing straight into me and I’ve got to hit 3-wood with the ball way above my feet and on an upslope. I hit it 130 metres, hit my 9-iron into the green to about six foot and holed it for birdie, so I got away with it. We had the delay, I hit my 3-wood and then hit the 9-iron onto the green and then they blew the buzzer again. So we hit two shots and were in for another hour. Then the wind changed direction so it was a completely different breeze and you had to adjust to that. It switched 180 degrees. It was a complete change.”

On the highlights of his round

“I hit a bunch close, into two or three feet. On 14 I hit 6-iron to about a foot and 18 I hit it to three feet which was nice. It was pretty solid.”

On moving across to the Open Course

“The Open Course plays differently because it’s a completely different golf course. I played a nine-hole practice round out there on Wednesday and the greens were quicker. It’s a whole different dynamic.”

Michael Sim (66, 12-under)

On the conditions Friday morning

“The wind got up overnight and woke me up and then there was some rain showers that rolled through. It was pretty windy from the get-go. We had a shower come through on holes two and three but on that Legends Course once you get through the first you get a nice run of down-wind holes. I played those nicely and made some putts and I knew the last six holes were going to be tough.”

On starting with two birdies

“The first tee is quite a wide drive but the wind was in off the left and I don’t think any professional likes that wind direction. Being elevated makes it a little bit more exposed. I managed to hit a good drive down there, couldn’t get on for two so laid up and pitched it close. I did that on the second as well so it was nice to get started that way.”

On returning to tournament play last week

“That was probably the first time I’ve played four rounds of golf in 10 months, competitive golf anyway. I had some nice rounds and felt like if I missed a green I didn’t get up and down or threw in a silly three-putt. It wasn’t terrific but I made the cut and managed to put four rounds together. You need to play tournament golf to know what you’ve got to work on.”

On highlights of his second round

“Six was a down-wind par 5 and seven is quite an open tee shot. I didn’t really hit it close today, I made a good amount of 12-15 foot putts. I really like the greens here this week but the interesting thing coming up is that we’re now switching golf courses. We leave the Legends and move across to the Open Course. It’s a much bigger test out there with a greater premium on your ball-striking and with the wind forecasted for the weekend it’s still anyone’s tournament.”

On record at Open Course where he was T3 at 2009 Moonah Classic

“I haven’t played it since the Moonah Classic. I played it a little bit when I was in the AIS golf program so I do know my way around the golf course quite well. Definitely looking forward to it. Probably need to hit a few more cleaner iron shots out there than on the Legends Course. Happy to be in a good position for the next two days and looking forward to the weekend.”

Zach Murray (65, 10-under)

On the expected bad weather on Friday

“I haven’t got my meteorological qualifications yet but it got pretty blowy there through six or seven holes. It’s just typical Melbourne, southern Victoria weather. You just never know what you’re going to get.”

On his return to competitive golf

“Last week I played really nice in spots. I knew I was close and started the year off pretty nice at the Blitz Golf Glenelg and Geoff Ogilvy has put on a couple of days that I’ve been playing well in. After not playing well in Europe at the back-end of last year I really came back with a different perspective on my golf. The mindset that I’m in at the moment is really nice. It’s a tough game at times when you’re not playing well but those underlying values that I learnt over there have come to the forefront a little bit.”

On his change in mindset

“It’s been a big dream of mine to play on the European Tour. I get excited to watch it at night when I’m not playing, I just love it so much. Sub-consciously I put too much pressure on myself. Out loud I certainly didn’t but inside there was that bit of tension for my first run at it. I went over there without any practice or tournament preparation at all and shot in the mid-80s first round. And when you’re in the bubble it’s not an easy thing to do, to reset and go again. It called for a bit of a reset on my mental approach about things in general. Backing myself in and being confident. Those are things that you need to practice.”

On the approach he took to second round

“When you know you’re playing well you don’t really question it. I didn’t go out there today with anything in mind. I just went out and played. It was never forced. Yesterday I played sensational, I just hit the wrong ball out of a bush. I thought it was my ball. It had the same markings but just had a red line underneath that I couldn’t see. Never once did I think that it wasn’t mine. I just got back on the horse and off I went again. I’ve really only hit one bad shot that got me in the bush and apart from that it’s been good.

“I remember Phil Mickelson saying once that when he rolled in a putt on the first hole of the British Open when he lost to Stenson, once he saw that go in he didn’t have to force the issue. It’s been a bit like that. I’ve holed some nice ones early and taken advantage of the rest of the course and played conservative when I’ve had to. That’s what happens when you’re playing good golf, you take the pressure off yourself by rolling in a few early putts and then you’re off.”

On the triple bogey at nine on Thursday after hitting the wrong ball

“I was in shock because I’d spent so long clearing the lie to be able to hit it. It was a comedy of errors and we laughed about it afterwards but it was a bit of a kick in the guys because you knew on a day like that, bogeys hurt so triple bogeys really hurt. But I was calm the whole time. It’s the things that I’ve been practising coming to the forefront.”

On the eagle at 12

“I’m driving the ball really well at the moment and hit a nice drive down there. I had 8-iron in and hit it to about 20 feet and rolled it in. You get 3-under after four and from there on you knuckle down and take your chances when you can and it adds up to 7 at the end.”

On the par save at seven from 15 feet and birdie at eight

“There was a two-shot swing. Those are the ones that keep you in the hunt.”