A West Australian golfer heads the Vic Open women's leaderboard after two rounds, but it's not major winner Hannah Green.
Whitney Hillier upstaged her better-known colleague, adding a five-under 68 to an opening 67 to sit at at 10-under 145 on Friday, two shots clear of the field at 13th Beach Golf Club on the Bellarine Peninsula.
Green had a chance to join her former state teammate, but a six-metre eagle putt on the final hole slid past the cup and she missed the next one to settle for a par and two-under 70.
The good friends have cleared out from the field with Queenslander Cassie Porter, who recently turned pro, and Victoria's Su Oh tied third on four-under after second round 70s.
"I haven't played with Whit for a long time, so it will be fun to play with her. I felt for her, living in West Australia she hasn't been home. I've known Whit for 10-plus years, we played a lot of junior golf together, amateur stuff and it will be cool to play in a professional event," Green said.
Green was happy to play the Beach course for the second round and she hasn't dropped a shot in an ominous warning for the weekend.
"It was kind of nice to know where to hit it and a couple of times on the back nine I hit the wrong club off the tee. It made it hard to hit a decent approach shot, so I'm looking forward to the weekend," Green said.
Hillier, at 31 and six years the senior, grabbed an eagle at the par-five second hole on the Creek course in her 68.
She is relishing the Saturday challenge after one of her best seasons on the Ladies European tour.
"I love it. It's what I'm here for, I'm here to win and I can't wait for the weekend. Whatever happens, happens and I'm just going to have some fun," she said.
Hillier, who grew up in Geraldton, hasn't been home for two years and stayed at her base in north-east England during the COVID epidemic to play tournaments in Europe.
"It's nice to play in the heat, I'm so used to wearing jumpers and trousers and it's so nice to be in the sun," she said.
With 11 top 10 finishes on the LET, she has worked to improve her mental approach.
You've got to stay calm and stay in the moment. And I've improved my putting and it was nice to see it going in the hole. Yeah, it's all coming along quite nicely," she said.
Queenslander Karis Davidson, at -3, New Zealand's Momoka Kobori (-2) and Korean Gyu Rin Kim (-1) were the only other players under par after 36 holes.
