Wellington's Mark Brown is holding on to his two-shot lead at the New Zealand Open through eight holes at Clearwater today.
The 37-year-old began the day at five-under the card and started well with six pars before birdieing the seventh hole to pull back another stroke.
Brown's playing partner Peter Wilson has also moved up the leaderboard and is two-under for the day and has a share of second place at four-under alongside Australian amateur Jake Higginbottom.
Higginbottom is bidding to become the first amateur to win the title since 1956, while Brown is aiming to become the first Kiwi to win the Open since 2003.
Australians Jason Norris and Peter O'Malley are tied for fourth at three-under, while Aaron Pike and Clint Rice are tied for eighth at two-under.
