Leona Maguire posted five birdies and no bogeys en route to a flawless round of golf at the AIG Women's Open at Carnoustie.
The Cavan native moved inside the top six on five under, two shots off the lead, following the second round at the final major of the season.
Starting the day on level par, following an opening round 72 at the Scottish links, Maguire promptly moved under par with back-to-back birdies on the fourth and fifth holes.
The two-time Olympian then added a third birdie on the seventh to reach the turn on three under, before adding two further birdies on the 12th and 14th holes to get to five under par.
Maguire will now be among the late starters on Saturday as she looks to make a move over the weekend at the prestigious event.
Compatriot Lauren Walsh also posted an impressive second round and will also be around for the weekend.
The Kildare amateur bounced back from a two-over 74 on Thursday to post 69 and move to one under par, well inside the cut mark, currently inside the top 35.
Named on the GB & Ireland team for the upcoming Curtis Cup, Walsh moved up an incredible 58 places on the leaderboard following a spectacular back nine 32, which included four birdies and five pars.
Mina Harigae from the USA and former champion Georgia Hall enjoy the clubhouse lead on seven under par.
Harigae blasted to the top of the leaderboard with a dazzling five-under second round 67, while Hall shot a round of 69.
Joint overnight leader and world number one Nelly Korda, on the other hand, endured a difficult day, carding two birdies and three bogeys in a 73 that left her three shots behind the leaders.
"I wasn't putting well. In the afternoon the greens got bumpy, and I got on the wrong side of those bumps. So they were constantly missing, but that's golf," said the American, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this month.
"Everyone keeps talking about how I'm playing so well, but I'm going to shoot bad scores. I'm human."
The other two leaders from Thursday, Kim Sei-young and Madelene Sagstrom, were tied for third and 12th, respectively.
Harigae picked up three birdies on her outward nine and after making her second bogey of the day on the 10th, she finished impressively with four birdies in the last seven holes.
"A couple times (today) I got lucky with the bounces, skirting a couple bunkers. But overall I putted really well today so I think that contributed to my really good back nine as well," said the 31-year-old.
Earlier, Hall looked set to pull away from the rest after her sixth birdie of the day on the 14th to move to nine under but a double bogey six at the 15th proved costly.
"I thought I played better than yesterday, a bit more consistent... a double bogey with the three hardest holes to play is not ideal. I tried to stay as patient as possible, hit a good shot off 16 and managed to par my way in," said the 2018 champion.
Thailand's Moriya Jutanugarn also played herself right into contention with a 67, becoming one of seven players on five under after two rounds.
One player who did not make the most of the decent scoring conditions, however, was reigning champion Sophia Popov who slumped to a three-over 75 and missed the cut.
