Adam Scott eyeing Min Woo Lee in bid for first win since February 2020

Cameron Smith is gone, but Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott are set for a Saturday showdown at the Australian PGA at Royal Queensland.

Adam Scott has Australian PGA leader Min Woo Lee in his sights as he chases his first win in almost four years.

The former world No.1 shot a six-under 65 at the par-71 Royal Queensland layout on Friday to move to 11-under par and a shot behind leader Lee, the rising Australian star who continued his good form with a second-round 66 after his 64 on Thursday.

A shot further back is New South Welshman John Lyras (65 and 67), with Victoria’s Lucas Herbert (66 and 68) and Western Australia’s Curtis Luck (67 and 67), whose round included a hole-in-one at the 17th “party hole” in a tie for fourth at eight-under with Joel Moscatel.

Spaniard Moscatel. who led the field after round one with a course-record equalling 63, remains in contention after shooting an even-par 71 on Friday.

However, one player who won’t feature on the weekend is tournament drawcard Cameron Smith, the defending champion who missed the cut after finishing at nine-over after two rounds which included Friday’s disastrous 78.

But while Smith struggled, Lee and Scott set the top for what’s shaping as an exciting third round on Saturday.

When asked about how felt about playing alongside Lee in Saturday’s final group, 43-year-old Scott – who hasn’t won a tournament since his Genesis Invitational success in February 2020 – had a blunt response.

Min Woo Lee leads the Australian PGA after two rounds. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

“I really don’t care who I play with,” the 2013 Masters champion said.

“I’m playing in the final group and I’m happy about that.

“My striking feels better than it has been. I’m feeling a bit more comfortable and also doing what I want it to do a bit more often, so that’s very pleasing for me.

“It’s good for the confidence too going into the weekend.”

Lee was thrilled with the prospect of going head-to-head with Scott, an icon of Australian golf.

“It’s amazing,” the winner of the recent Macau Open said.

“Only a few years ago I was dreaming to be in this spot, especially to play with ‘Scotty’.

“It seems only like a few years ago I was … watching him winning the Masters.

“It is cool to have him as a friend and play in the final group.

“Anywhere you are in the final group of any tournament, it’s a pretty good achievement, so hopefully I can keep it going.”

Earlier, the pressure to play well in honour of his late mate Jarrod Lyle helped Herbert recover from a poor start and finish his second round with a flurry.

Having started the day at Royal Queensland at five-under, Herbert, dropped three shots in the first five holes despite believing he wasn’t doing “that much wrong”.

Remaining calm, Herbert used the pressure of being the ambassador for Yellow Day ­– which raises funds for Challenge, a charity that supports children suffering from cancer and an organisation that leukaemia victim Lyle was the ambassador for – to refocus and finish at eight-under following a second-round 68.

“At three-over through five, it almost felt like I wasn’t really playing for myself today,” Herbert said.

“I was playing for Yellow Day being the ambassador. I knew that I was playing a lot more than just myself, so that helped me give me a bit of extra motivation to focus just that extra little bit for the last 13 holes.

Lucas Herbert and his caddie Nick Pugh decked out in yellow on day two of the Australian PGA Championship a (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

“It didn’t feel like I did that much wrong to be three over through five, just a couple of loose shots here and there and all of a sudden there it was.

“I didn’t have to panic, I didn’t have to do anything different. I just needed to stick with it, stay patient and think of as many cliches as I could and it worked out nicely for me.

“It’s pretty nice … seeing everyone wearing so much yellow out here.

“We do a great job to honour Jarrod’s legacy and raise awareness and raise funds for the Challenge foundation.”

Herbert was confident of challenging for the title over the weekend.

“Realistically I’ve just got to give myself a chance with nine holes to go on Sunday. That’s all that matters,” he said.

Playing partner David Micheluzzi also had a second-round 68 to be at six-under with two rounds remaining.

Leaderboard after Round 2:

12-under: Min Woo Lee

11-under: Adam Scott

10-under: John Lyras

8-under: Lucas Herbert, Curtis Luck, Joel Moscatel