Rod Pampling has rocketed into contention at the second-last PGA Tour Champions tournament as fellow Australians scrap to be among the 36 players who contest the season finale.
Queenslander Pampling made nine birdies in a second-round eight-under 64 to be tied third, two shots behind joint leaders Padraig Harrington and Steven Alker going into the final round of the Simmons Bank Championship in Arkansas.
As well as being in the hunt for a third title, the hot form lifted Pampling from the danger zone at No.33 in the season's points standings to a projected No.21, with only the top 36 on Sunday advancing to next month's Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix.
