Two Australians remain high on the leaderboard as they chase a breakthrough victory for their country at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship in Vietnam this weekend.

Victoria’s Jazy Roberts (66-68) is in a share of second place at 8-under-par, two shots behind the leader, Korea’s Sumin Yong (65-67), while Queensland’s Lion Higo (65-72) is five shots back after 36 holes at Hoiana Shores Golf Club.

In windswept conditions, controlling ball flight, capitalising on birdie opportunities and minimising mistakes was the order of the day.

The degree of difficulty was evident as only 20 players from the 92-strong field from 24 countries bettered par in the second round, as opposed to 34 on day one.

Roberts, 144th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, said: “It was pretty solid again. I hit a few shots in close and rolled some putts in. I had a bit of trouble down the last few holes.

“It was getting really windy, but I managed to get through. It's what you expect when you come to a course that's next to the ocean. You have to play smart.”

With her work done for the day, she retired to her room at the nearby hotel to recharge her batteries ahead of what she hopes will be an historic weekend as she bids to improve on the previous best WAAP display by an Australian and Kelsey Bennett’s joint runner-up finish in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

“I’ll maybe scroll through TikTok – just get my mind off golf and restart tomorrow. Anything can happen on a course like this. I'm honestly not too fazed,” added Roberts.

Higo said: "It was definitely more challenging than yesterday with the winds being up a lot. \ I think I didn't really hit my shots that great today. I was just kind of scrambling on the front nine then kind of settled down a bit."

Three other Australians - Sarah Hammett (72-69), Hannah Reeves (73-70) and Ella Scaysbrook (70-73) – are inside the top 30.

The half-way cut for the leading 50 players and ties fell at 4-over-par 146, eliminating Nadene Gole (75-81).

The winner at Hoiana Shores will be invited to compete in three of this year’s major championships – the AIG Women’s Open, Amundi Evian Championship and the Chevron Championship – as well as the Hana Financial Group Championship, ISPS HANDA Australian Open, the 122nd Women's Amateur Championship and, by tradition, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.