Lydia Ko off the pace at Royal Adelaide in Australian Open

The world Nos 1 and 2 struggled at Royal Adelaide and finished well off the pace.

World No 1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand drives during round two of the Women's Australian Open at Royal Adelaide Golf Club.

World golf heavyweights Lydia Ko and Arija Jutanugarn had been expected to give the Australian Open the old one-two despite the strength of the field and reputation of the Royal Adelaide course.

After two rounds in frisky winds and against the best field to contest the national open Ko, the world No 1, and Jutanugarn, world No 2, were giving the proud Royal Adelaide layout the old 39 and 63.

Maybe it was the rustiness that comes with a new season or swing changes not bedded down but the pair have been nowhere near their best. Distance judgment poor, erratic irons, putting not much more than average. And nowhere near the lead.

When Ko finished her second round in two over 75 and an even par total she was on the cut line and tied for 63rd. At the same time Jutanugarn was tied for 39th after consecutive 72s.

The tournament is still winnable for the two best players in the world but not on the form of the first two rounds. By the end of her round yesterday Ko was clearly at odds with her swing and Jutanugarn uncomfortable in the wind. Ko, though, maintained her position was retrievable. “There is a lot of positives and I think that I’m hitting the ball good enough where I can have a lower one and hopefully that’s the one coming on the weekend,” she said. Many would disagree.

Overnight leader Australian Katherine Kirk managed her game well in the windy afternoon and on firming greens until her second last hole — the par 4 eighth — where a double bogey six dragged her down to seven under par.

It left another Australian, Sarah Jane Smith, in the lead by one shot as the late afternoon began to reshape the tournament. Kirk, eight under par at the start of play after a first round 65, took her lead into double figures with a birdie on her 14th hole. But she gave the shot back with a bogey on the very next hole followed by the catastrophic double bogey.

Smith, 32, and ranked 108 in the world, built on her first round three under par 70 with a blemish-free six under par 67. A run of three consecutive birdies from the third hole gave the Queenslander round an unstoppable momentum.

Last year Smith had her best year yet on the LPGA tour winning nearly $500,000. She has two wins on the secondary tour and been a steady competitor on the LPGA circuit for nearly a decade.

She fears nerves will be her toughest opponent between now and tomorrow evening.

“I was in contention in Mexico at the end of the year and Saturday kind of got the best of me,” she said. “I managed to get out of the round but I think shot one-under, but it was a struggle. I actually said to Duane (Smith, husband and caddie) on the last hole, ‘Get me out of here’. I wanted to get off the golf course and settle down for a little bit. But Sunday I felt like I learned from it and kind of relaxed a little more and had a good day, so I’m hoping that I’ve learned from that and can relax a little bit and continue doing what I’ve been doing.”

Kirk admits she lost her way at the end.

“Yeah, I hit the ball pretty well but just butchered two chip shots today and yeah, just disappointing coming in to finish double and not make a birdie on the last. A couple of unforced errors, and that’s the way it goes, but yeah, there are lots of positives too, so I’m just going to stay focused on those and give myself 36 chances over the weekend,” Kirk said.

Another Australian pushed her way towards the top. Hannah Green, 20, added to her first round 69 with a two under par 71. It left her six under for the tournament and three from the lead but it could have been so much better.

Smith, runner-up to Ko in the 2015 New Zealand Open, had moved to eight under par for the tournament when she eagled the tough par 5 17th only to immediately double bogey her final hole.

American Lizette Salas made the first run at Kirk’s first round dominance. Five under par overnight she returned with an early morning second round 70 to sit eight under par. It was a welcome return to form.

Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum soon arrived back at the clubhouse on eight under as well.

Phatlum, like Salas, had shot rounds of 70, 68. She likes the course because at 6115m it does not stretch her game and she has the patience to deal with the gusty wind.

The early morning starters did not get the benefit of the still ­conditions that were such a fillip to low scoring on Thursday. Overcast skies and a wind that was not blowing hard but just enough to be “tricky” according Chinese Taipei’s Min Lee, quarantined overnight leader Kirk from a stampede.

Lee handled the stiff breezes of Thursday afternoon to shoot a remarkable six under par 67 but was less effective yesterday, moving to seven under with a one under par 72.

Michelle Wie, the 27-year-old veteran and four-time winner on tour, has ceased her putting style where she bent over the ball so far her back was parallel to the ground. For a woman with a ­history of back problems it seemed about as sensible as treating ­alcoholism with another round of drinks.

The chronic spine problems ruined her 2016 season. She missed the cut in half the tournaments she played, her world ranking dropped to 182, and she made less than $100,000 in prizemoney.

The pain returned yesterday.

“I just got really bad back spasms today. It was pretty bad out there but hopefully off to the physio and get it better for this weekend,” she said after bravely adding two-under-par 71 to add to her first 70.

It was a dramatic last hour yesterday with Karrie Webb just missing the cut and Ko and world No 6 Brooke Henderson just making it.

Before the tournament Ko said that David Leadbetter had made myriad changes to her swing. As for the old one, two, Ko and Jutanugarn have barely laid a punch.