The New Zealander followed his opening 65 with a four-over 74 to reach one-under 139, leaving him tied 18th and nine shots behind South Korea’s Min-hyuk Song at the halfway stage.
Voke is still only two shots outside the top 10 heading into the weekend.
Triple Bogey Halts Voke’s Momentum
Voke began Friday with a one-shot advantage and remained four-under for the championship when he reached the 10th tee.
He had played his opening eight holes in one-under, thanks to a birdie at the seventh, before a bogey at the ninth saw him turn in level-par 36.
The major setback came immediately after the turn.
A triple-bogey seven at the par-four 10th dropped Voke back to one-under for the tournament.
He responded impressively with consecutive birdies at the 11th and 12th, briefly recovering to three-under, but bogeys at 14 and 15 halted the comeback.
Three closing pars completed a 74.
It was a significant change from Thursday’s six-birdie 65, but Voke safely made the cut and remains within range of a strong finish.
Song Fires Spectacular 60
South Korea’s Song produced the round of the tournament to take control of the championship.
Starting Friday five strokes behind Voke, he fired a remarkable 10-under 60 featuring a hole-in-one, an eagle and eight birdies.
The round lifted Song to 10-under 130 and gave him a four-shot advantage at halfway.
Thailand’s Sarit Suwannarut moved into second at six-under after a 63, with compatriot Sadom Kaewkanjana third at five-under following a 67.
Song’s charge represented a 14-shot swing relative to Voke during Friday’s second round.
Halfway Leaders
| Player | Country | Position | Round Two | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Min-hyuk Song | South Korea | 1st | 60 | −10 (130) |
| Sarit Suwannarut | Thailand | 2nd | 63 | −6 (134) |
| Sadom Kaewkanjana | Thailand | 3rd | 67 | −5 (135) |
| Nick Voke | New Zealand | T18 | 74 | −1 (139) |
Voke Still Within Reach Of Top 10
The nine-shot gap to Song makes the title challenge considerably tougher, but Voke remains close to another prominent Asian Tour finish.
He arrived in Manila after sharing fourth at the Hong Kong Open and has already demonstrated how quickly he can climb a leaderboard with a low weekend round.
Voke begins Saturday’s third round from the first tee at 1.15pm NZDT, alongside Thailand’s Tawit Polthai and Taiwan’s Liu Yung-hua.
After leading on Thursday, the Kiwi now becomes the chaser.
There is plenty of ground to recover — but only two shots separate him from the top 10 with 36 holes remaining.
