Kiwi golfer Daniel Hillier has rocketed to the top of the leaderboard at the midway point of the DP World Tour's BMW International in Germany.
A blemish-free second round this morning saw Hillier card a five-under 67 which was enough to see him climb to the top of the pack at nine-under overall.
Hillier's round was highlighted by three consecutive birdies on the seventh, eighth and ninth holes.
The 24-year-old Wellingtonian said the windy conditions in Munich suited him.
"Pretty pleased, obviously," Hillier said. "It was pretty tough conditions out there. Breeze is definitely up and making it tricky. Pretty swirling winds as well.
"I played a really solid front nine. There were a couple of lucky ones coming in and managed to go round bogey-free which was pretty good.
"I think it helps when you come from Wellington, playing in the wind all your life. Then you have to navigate your way around it."
Hillier is chasing a title after earning wins on the European Challenge Tour in each of the last two seasons - the most recent at the 2022 Swiss Challenge helping him earn his DP World Tour status.
But he isn't letting the moment get to him.
"I need to stay patient coming down the stretch," he said. "I was pretty good at KLM, maybe one or two birdies more and I think I bogeyed 16 or 15 and that kind of took me out of it, unfortunately.
"If I'm in that situation again, just make sure I stick to my gameplan, don't try and think too much. And if the results come my way, then I'm really pleased."
Hillier's rise unfortunately comes as fellow Kiwi Lydia Ko continued to fall at the women's PGA Championship in New Jersey.
Ko shot a two-over 73 in the second round to sit at five-over overall which is right on the projected cut line for the LPGA major.
Ko had four birdies marred by six bogeys in her rollercoaster round, leaving her in a tie for 64th and 10 shots behind leader Leona Maguire from Ireland.
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