Play continues today for golfers competing in the Carrus Tauranga Open.

Josh Geary has ascended to the top of the leaderboard midway through the tournament after finishing with a barrage of birdies during a challenging second round.

Strong westerlies greeted players right from the first tee shot that gusted up to 50 kilometres an hour at certain points on Friday.

After a history-making opening round where Ethan Jones carded the Jennian Homes Charles Tour’s third 59, the best round today was a four-under 66.

Josh navigated his way through the tricky conditions superbly, returning a three-under 67 after his round of 63 on Thursday to sit 10-under-par for the championship.

The Bay of Plenty-based professional began on the 11th, the tougher side of the golf course, opening with a couple of pars and an eagle at 13. However, the gusty winds played havoc, and Josh dropped shots on 14, 15, and 17 to fall to one-over-par.

He traded a birdie with a bogey on holes two and three before finishing with four birdies on six, seven, eight, and 10 to snatch the clubhouse lead.

Josh says it was an extremely challenging day.

“The wind was gusting today. I started on the 11th, and it was pretty brutal over the first few holes. It was all over the show really – I hit some good shots, some terrible shots, and let three easy birdie opportunities slip by. It was tough, but it was my fault.

“I tried to stay patient and managed to birdie a couple of the easy holes coming home, which was nice. It was a good result in the end, considering how I played.”

Although he holds the lead at the tournament’s midway point, he says he still has plenty of work to do on his game after a four-month rest and a share of 22nd finish at last week’s Christies Floorings Mount Open.

“It was pretty scrappy today. You can get away with a lot around here if you miss it in the right spots, but I need to improve my ball striking.

“The scores are improving after every tournament round I’m playing. I haven’t played too much over the last four or five months, so that’s a good sign.”

Sitting second is another Bay of Plenty professional, Kieran Muir.

Kieran endured the tricky conditions perfectly, making four birdies and a bogey for his own solid second round.

Kieran Muir. Photo: Supplied.

He credits being patient as the key to his solid round.

“The golf course wasn’t very user-friendly on the back nine as almost every hole was playing as a cross-breeze, and the fairways are pretty narrow.

"Even the first six holes were challenging with all the elevation change – if you got the ball a bit too high in the air, it becomes very hard to control the flight. I just tried to keep it as low to the ground as possible and be patient.

“I felt pretty comfortable today and felt in control of what I was doing. I played with some good people – we had a great three-ball today, which makes everything light-work and pretty cruisey."

Ethan Jones. Photo: Supplied.

Thursday’s hero, Ethan Jones sneaks into the final group after a challenging day.

Following his incredible 59 on Thursday, he finished with a second round of four-over 74. Despite the score, he says he’s still happy with how he fought following a brutal stretch in the middle of his round.

 “It was okay. I still hit the ball all right, but the putter wasn’t behaving itself. I finished really strongly which I’m really happy about. I made a bogey on 17, but they were all good golf shots, I just got a bit unlucky.

“It was a rough middle patch but I’m happy with the finish.”

Play gets underway today. Saturday, September 30, at 10.30am.

Carrus Tauranga Open Tournament Information