SYDNEY — Jason Day reeled off four birdies in a row to charge up the leaderboard at the Australian Open on Friday, after world No. 2 Jordan Spieth birdied his final hole for the second day in a row. Playing in the afternoon when the wind was at its strongest, Day defied blustery conditions to shoot a second round three-under par 68 and reach the halfway point at eight-under. That left the Australian just one stroke behind outright leader Lucas Herbert, who made the most of his early tee-off time and carded a 66. Spieth, still rusty after taking an extended break since the Presidents Cup, battled his way to an even-par 71 to be one-under overall but was still hopeful of catching up to the frontrunners over the weekend. On this golf course, more than just about any that we play, I feel like you can make up more ground and come from behind, he said. Day, chasing his first victory of 2017 and his maiden win at his national open, briefly joined Herbert in a share of the lead when he drained a 20-foot putt on the 15th hole for his fourth successive birdie. The former world No. 1 slipped a shot behind when he bogeyed the 17th but scrambled a par on the last after finding a fairway bunker with his drive. With a seven-stroke advantage over Spieth, Day is now a strong favorite to win the Stonehaven Cup but he said he fully expected the American to claw his way back into contention. Herbert followed up his first day 67 with six birdies to set the pace at nine-under 133 and remain in front. The recently-turned professional also led the Australian Open last year before eventually finishing 20th, but said he was better equipped to handle the pressure this time. Hoping to capitalize on the benign morning conditions after playing his opening round in gusting winds on Thursday, Spieth only managed two birdies in the second round. The three-time major winner has not played in six weeks and is missing his regular caddie Michael Greller, who remained at home after the recent birth of his son. Rose targets 'hot run' as Chawrasia extends lead Justin Rose targeted one hot run this weekend to claw his way back into the Hong Kong Open, as world No. 231-ranked Golfer SSP Chawrasia extended his lead on Friday. The Englishman, who won at Hong Kong in 2015, shot 69 in a turbulent round including six birdies on day two to leave him three under-par for the tournament, six shots off the unheralded Indian player. I am disappointed to drop five shots but at least I made six birdies. It wasn't easy out there, said Rose, the Olympic champion and world No. 6. Rose, who arrived in Hong Kong this week off the back of a successful but draining schedule, said he was skipping training between rounds in order to conserve his energy. I'm sticking with the recovery. Sort of like no practice this week. Lots of time to myself. Lots of time in the gym just kind of really getting my body feeling great and come out I think mentally as fresh as possible each day. Meanwhile Rose's playing partner Sergio Garcia, the Masters champion, found the Hong Kong course's firm greens, narrow fairways and unpredictable winds on day two even tougher. I played terrible the last two days. At least we managed to hold it together to make the cut, but I didn't feel comfortable at all with my swing, and didn't putt that great, said the Spaniard, who hit 17 pars and a bogey to finish even-par after day two. But Chawrasia, whose best finish in Hong Kong was fifth in 2014, made the most of slightly more benign conditions on day two to extend his lead to two strokes with an impressive 66. He sits on nine under-par for the tournament, ahead of South Africa's Thomas Aiken who hit the day's best score of 64 to finish seven under. I was feeling today more confidence than yesterday, said Chawrasia. The Kolkata-born player has enjoyed a fine season on the Asian Tour, where he is currently ranked in fourth place overall, with only a handful of tournaments remaining this year. He successfully defended his title at the Hero Indian Open with a seven-stroke win in New Delhi, becoming the first Indian to successfully retain a European Tour title. — AFP