Voke shot a 6-under-par 66 at Royal Auckland & Grange Golf Club in Round 2 to sit alongside a rejuvenated 2025 NZ Open champion Ryan Peake (65) and Japan’s Taichi Nabetani (69) on 8-under-par through 36 holes.
The only players ahead of that trio are Japan’s Kohei Okada, who will be chasing the first Japan Golf Tour win of his career this weekend, and Australian Jay Mackenzie, who birdied three of his last six holes to match his co-leader’s 67.
Among the others well in the hunt with two rounds to play is the highest-ranked Kiwi in the field this week, Kazumi Kobori, who posted a second round 71 to be just three shots off the lead in a tie for eighth.
Voke’s second round was bogey-free, with three birdies on the front nine matched by three on the back nine.
With major rewards on the line on Sunday, the 31-year-old is trying not to think too much about the huge career boost a win would bring.
Not only would he be the inaugural Japan-Australasia Championship titleholder, he’d most likely move to No.1 on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia with two events to play and earn a two-year exemption on the Japan Golf Tour.
“That’d be awesome,” he said about winning at his home club.
“I’ve been a member here six or seven years now and really consider it my home when I am home.
“I haven’t put much thought into what winning would be like, but it would be incredible.”
Voke’s 66 was an excellent round, but it still wasn’t the lowest in his group, with playing partner Curtis Luck setting the second course record in as many days with his 8-under-par 64 – a 13-shot improvement on his Thursday round.
The West Australian went on a hot streak of six straight birdies before making his only bogey for the day at his ninth hole, the par-5 18th.
He finished his day with a four-metre birdie putt on the par-3 ninth – his ninth birdie for the morning – to beat the 16-hour-old course record of 66 shot by Yoshinori Fujimoto on day one.
Voke was the previous record holder thanks to a 67 at the Ryan Fox Invitational Pro-Am.
“It was sad to see that course record slip from my hands yesterday with a 6-under shot, but I think Curtis’ 8-under will be tough to beat,” Voke said.
Meanwhile, Mackenzie has brought his good form from Queenstown last week, where he finished in the top 10 at the NZ Open, to Auckland, where he’s given himself a chance to win the biggest title of his career and the chance he’s wanted to play on an international tour.
Currently ninth on the OOM, he could go a long way to sealing the No.1 spot with a victory on Sunday.
“That’s what we do all the practise for. We’ll see what happens over the weekend,” the always understated Mackenzie said.
“I had a pretty good start to the season, but didn’t play that well after the Christmas break and I’ve kind of slowly started to find a bit of form again.”
Always happy to be in New Zealand, where his life underwent a huge change by taking the national Open, Peake would have matched Luck’s new course record if he had made a birdie, not a bogey, at the testing par-5 final hole after finding the greenside bunker in two, but with a difficult downhill lie.
His bunker shot slowly rolled off the green on the other side and he took another three shots from there.
With only one top 10 on his record since winning at Millbrook Resort 12 months ago, Peake, who collected eight birdies on Friday, is adamant his recent scores haven’t reflected his good play.
“I’ve been playing great golf for the last six months. Results don’t show it. I’ve missed cut after cut and it’s been really frustrating,” last season’s Order of Merit runner-up said.
“I knew that it was about to turn. I thought it was going to happen last week and it didn’t.
“Exactly what I knew that was coming has showed the last couple days.”
Of the three Japanese players in the top six, only co-leader Okada is without a win on his home tour.
His second round highlight was an eagle on the par-5 sixth, part of a front nine of 31.
“I’m not feeling that confident, so I’m going to go out and practise now,” he said post-round.
Nebatani, the winner of the Casio World Open on the Japanese tour in 2023, is on his second trip to New Zealand which has quickly become one of his favourite places to visit.
“There are still 36 holes to go, but I’m already in a position I wasn’t in last year, so I’m happy about that,” he said.
Overnight leader Yoshinori Fujimoto followed his opening 66 with a 71 today to be 7-under-par heading into the weekend, as he still tries to adjust to the large, slopy greens that are a feature of the composite course, especially on the back nine.
“The greens are very steep,” he said.
“In Japan, if you can get on the green, you can usually make par, but here, depending on where you land, it can result in bogey.
“My putting wasn’t very good today, but I still ended up under par, so I think it was good.”
A 4-under-par from Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit leader Cam John saw him safely into the weekend, just five shots back on a congested leaderboard.
Meanwhile, Order of Merit No.2 Chris Wood missed the halfway cut after finishing at 1-over-par.
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