MARK ALLEN fired five birdies to stretch his lead to two shots after the second round of the New Zealand Open golf yesterday.

The Australian finds himself leading a tournament at the halfway mark for the first time. Despite his birdies, Allen also hit four bogeys and finished with a one under par 69 that put him on a seven under par 133.

He heads Peter Lonard who, along with Peter Senior, shot the day's best score of three under 68 by two shots, with New Zealand's Michael Long a stroke further back.

Allen, a 27 year old from Victoria, has felt in great touch over the past month and said he adjusted his swing after looking at a golf magazine story that examined the best swings in the history of golf.

. A level par 70 gave Rodrigo Cuello of the Philippines a narrow one shot lead after the second round of the Hong Kong Open yesterday.

Overnight leader Don Walsworth remains in contention with a one under par aggregrate 139, one shot behind Cuello.