Australian pair Billy Dowling and Kayun Mudadana are chasing a unique quinella heading into the final day of the Scottish Men’s Open Championship at North Berwick Golf Club.

Backing up from coming within one of the course record held by Masters champion Trevor Immelman, Dowling shot 4-under 67 in Round 2 to be 11-under for the championship and leader by two.

A week after setting a course record at Hankley Common Golf Club during the Brabazon Trophy, Mudadana matched Dowling’s 7-under 64 from day one to climb 14 spots into outright third at 8-under par ahead of 36 holes on Sunday.

Fifth at the Brabazon Trophy, Dowling was 5-under through 11 holes in Round 2 with three birdies and an eagle at the par-5 eighth.

Back-to-back bogeys at 14 and 15 saw him drop back to 10-under but extended his advantage to two with a birdie at the par-4 18th.

“I did expect the winds to pick up because, around this place, I think that’s just what happens, but I was quite pleased with 4-under,” said Dowling.

“I felt like I hit it quite good and the putter was doing its job for most of the day.”

The last Australian winner of the Scottish Men’s Open was Cameron John in 2016, Dowling seeking to become just the third Aussie champion along with John Sutherland in 2001.

Waking to a flood of messages of support from back home, the 20-year-old insists he will try to maintain a singular focus across a marathon final day.

“It always feels nice after you’ve had a good round to receive all the messages from people supporting you,” said the 2024 South Australian Amateur champion.

“I’m not looking at it like, oh, it’s 36 holes. It’s just one hole after another and I’m just trying to try my best.”

Like Dowling a day earlier, Mudadana had nine birdies in his round of 7-under, five of which came in a six-hole stretch around the turn.

A current Cameron Smith Scholarship holder, Mudadana dropped a shot at the par-4 14th but made birdies at both 17 and 18 to draw to within three of Dowling.

Victorian Matthew Lever dropped into a tie for 24th with an even-par 71, Max Moring is tied for 34th after a round of 1-under 70 and Abel Eduard (71) and Declan O’Donovan (72) both missed the cut.

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