The first cut at the World Super 6 fell at two under par after 36 holes of stroke play, with Brett Rumford stretching his lead to two strokes with a round of 65.

The Australian was 13 under par after two rounds, but everyone is playing to to make the top 24 by the end of Saturday and progress to the match play format in the final round.

Rumford, who grew up in the town of Perth, carded rounds of 66, 65 to set the midway marker and was two strokes clear of countryman David Bransdon.

The leaderboard was packed with Aussies, including Steven Jeffress in sole third and Lucas Herbert in a tie for fourth place with America’s Johannes Veerman.

Louis Oosthuizen remained in the top 10 with a round of 68 on Friday that included his first bogey of the week. The 2010 Open Champion kept a tidy score card and was six shots off the lead, but that is irrelevant this week.

Compleat Golfer’s playing editor will be looking for a top-eight position after three rounds, with those select few getting a bye in the first round of match play.

On Sunday each match will play just six holes in a groundbreaking new format and the pros didn’t know what to expect. Being in a good position at the start of the match play will give Oosthuizen the best chance of succeeding at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, where he won the Perth International last year.