Geelong golfer James McLean shot a brilliant 65 in the second round of the Victorian PGA Championship to take a two-shot lead on Friday.

McLean shot the equal-lowest round of the day at the tricky Forest Resort course at Crewick near Ballarat to sit alone at the halfway stage ahead of elegant New Zealand left-hander Gareth Paddison and Shepparton’s Leighton Lyle.

One stroke further adrift at five-under par is pre-tournament favourite Andre Stolz, a two-time winner on the One Asia Tour last year with victories in the Indonesian PGA and Thailand Open.

First-round leader Stephen Dartnall from Western Australia shot a disappointing second round of 74 to be tied at two-under par with four other players.

McLean, who just over a decade ago had the golfing world at his feet after winning the prestigious NCAA championship in the US, shot seven birdies against one bogey to sign for six-under to go with his two-under par 69 in the first round.

The big-hitting McLean was conscious to keep the driver in the bag and play a more conservative game around the challenging layout.

“I was definitely playing quite conservatively; I only hit the driver a couple of times today. It was three iron almost every tee,” said McLean, who had a US PGA Tour card in his late teens but struggled to recover from a left wrist injury.

“I had a fairly solid round today, kept it out of the trees most of the time and was lucky enough to hole a few putts.

“I am starting to hit the ball a little bit better and more consistently and rolling in a few putts so hopefully I can continue it.

“It would be great to win, just to get the monkey off the back for the rest of the year. I am playing up in Asia and Japan this year so it would be a great start to the year.”