World No.24 golfer Bo van Pelt has made a charge at the Perth International at Lake Karrinyup, moving to within two strokes of the leader after shooting a five-under-par 67 on Friday.

Overnight leader Michael Hendry is still at the top of the list at nine-under for the tournament after four holes, with Argentine Emiliano Grillo on his tail at eight-under.

But former world No.3 Paul Casey endured a forgettable day.

Casey started Friday in a tie for fourth at five-under-par, and took a share of the lead early after a solid start to his round.

But after dropping five strokes in a horror six-hole stretch, Casey finished at three-over for the second round, bringing his overall score to two-under.

Van Pelt was solid without being spectacular in his two-under 70 on Thursday, but displayed far more polish in his second round.

“I was five back going into today and, whenever you’re that far back, you try to shrink it going into the weekend,” van Pelt said.

“So hopefully, I’ll be closer than five back when the day’s end and hopefully after tomorrow do the same thing – get a little bit closer.

“You try to have a chance to win with nine holes to go on Sunday.

“That’s something my caddie and I always talk about is just trying to give ourselves a chance on Sunday, and then you just never know what will happen.

“But I feel good about what I’m trying to do in my golf swing, and the putter feels pretty good.

“So just going to try to come out here tomorrow and do the same thing.”