Marc Leishman has carded a six-under-par 64 second round to snare a share of the clubhouse lead at the Asian Tour's Saudi International.
Leishman produced five birdies and an eagle two on the par-4 10th hole to rocket to eight under par on Friday.
He shared the clubhouse lead with Thailand's Sadom Kaewkanjana, who posted a second straight 66, as the afternoon starters teed off.
While Leishman prospered, celebrated countryman Cameron Smith again battled and was in serious danger of missing the halfway cut.
On Thursday world No.4 Smith ended up near the rear of the field after a 73 which left him a distant 10 shots behind first-round pacesetter Abraham Ancer.
He followed up with a 69 on Friday, to be two over and needing the projected cut line of even par to drop.
Smith had been looking to kick-start his year as he did in 2022, when he won the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii first up with a record low score.
That proved a launchpad for a stellar 12 months that featured winning the Players' Championship before the crowning glory of his victory at the 150th Open at St Andrews.
In a field featuring 12 major winners and some of LIV Golf's brightest luminaries, Ancer finished day one a shot clear of Colombian Sebastian Munoz (64) while Spain's Sergio Garcia, South African Louis Oosthuizen and Cameron Young, the runner-up behind Smith at St Andrews, all shot 65s.
As Smith faltered in the $US5 million ($A7m) event, four other Australians did their best to lead the way.
Andrew Dodt, Lucas Herbert, fresh from his third-place finish in the Dubai Desert Classic, Leishman and his veteran LIV colleague Matt Jones were all on two under among a host of players tied for 18th place after 18 holes.
Dodt posted another 68 on Friday to climb to four under, while Herbert and Jones had afternoon starts.
