By Dane Heverin

In-form pair Billy Cawthorne and Andrew Richards flew home to share the halfway lead at the Riversdale Cup today.

Cawthorne, from the Royal Adelaide Golf Club and recently in the final group of the Australian Amateur Championship, launched to the top of the men's leaderboard with 32 on the back nine.

He sank a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th – his fifth birdie of the day – to take top spot with a fine four-under-par 68.

But he was joined by recently crowned NSW Amateur champ Andrew Richards at seven under late on day two after the Pennant Hills ace rammed in two late birdies for his own 68.

The pair is one clear of Metropolitan's Lukas Michel and Glenelg’s Jack Buchanan who, for most of the morning, had wrestled for the lead.

Michel also shot 68, highlighted by a chip-in eagle on the par-5 sixth and four birdies in the opening five holes having started on the 10th. But four bogeys halted his progress.

Buchanan holed multiple mid-range putts to make five birdies and finish with 69 for the second successive round.

On the women's side, overnight joint leader Commonwealth Golf Club's Sheradyn Johnson went one better than yesterday's 71 to sit at five under.

Johnson, who started on the 10th today, eagled the par-5 fifth and birdied the seventh to go three shots clear of Metropolitan's Jeneath Wong.

Wong, the defending champion, had four birdies and four bogeys to finish with an even-par 73.

Johnson and Wong are the only women under par with Kooyonga's Matilda Miels (+1) and New South Wales Golf Club's Michelle Di Natale (+3) the next best.

LEADERBOARD