Paul Dunne was left to rue a hugely frustrating finish to his second round at the Australian PGA Championship, as he ended the day six shots off the pace.
Dunne was just three of the leader, David Lingmerth, heading to the 17th, but a bogey there, followed by a double-bogey six on his final hole of the day meant the Greystones man finished three-over for the day – and for the tournament.
Dunne had made a strong start Down Under on Thursday, finishing his first round tied seventh on level par, five off the pace set by South African Zander Lombard.
He now needs a huge weekend to haul himself back into contention on the Gold Coast.
Lingmerth reeled off six birdies in his first 12 holes to snatch a one-shot lead , while pre-tournament favourite Brandt Snedeker missed the cut by a whopping nine shots.
The Swede shot a 68 in tricky conditions at the Royal Pines Resort to reach the halfway stage as the outright leader at three-under-par.
Six players - England's Mark Foster, South Africa's Lombard and Dylan Frittelli, Spain's Pablo Martin Benavides, Australia's Matthew Miller and American Peter Uihlein - were tied for second a shot further back.
Rhein Gibson, who fired a world record 16-under-par 55 at a National Pro Tour event in the United States three years ago, shot a course-record 64 on Friday to join a group of six players at one-under.
After a first-round 79, Gibson slipped to nine-over after two holes on Friday but stormed up the leaderboard with five birdies and two eagles in his last 10 holes.
"To be able to do that on a Friday to make the cut and get back in contention, it's probably better than a 55," he said.
American Snedeker, who has seven wins on the elite US PGA Tour, carded a 75, nine better than his first round but still leaving him languishing way back at 15 over par.
"I definitely feel embarrassed about my play the last two days," Snedeker said. "I'm going to need to come back down here and redeem myself."
