Rory McIlroy narrowly avoided an early exit at the Australian Open, squeezing inside the cut line after a nervy finish on Friday, while home star Min Woo Lee electrified Royal Melbourne with a blistering charge up the leaderboard.

Huge galleries gathered to follow McIlroy, but it was Lee who stole the spotlight. The Australian fired a brilliant second-round 65, highlighted by a stunning eagle at the par-4 10th where he holed a nine-iron from 176 metres. That surge lifted him to eight-under, just one behind joint leaders Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark (66) and Portugal’s Daniel Rodrigues (64).

Lee celebrated the hole-out with an impromptu aeroplane pose as the crowd erupted.

“It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing,” he laughed. “Big crowd, lots of energy… it just felt right. If I keep playing this kind of solid golf, I’ll be happy.”

His playing partner Adam Scott is also firmly in the mix at seven-under, alongside former Open champion Cameron Smith (65) and LIV’s Carlos Ortiz (70).

McIlroy’s day, by contrast, looked to be unraveling. After managing only a single birdie through 13 holes, he stunned spectators with a complete air-swing while trying to escape trees on the par-5 14th, dropping to one-over and outside the projected cut.

“That definitely wasn’t one of my best,” McIlroy admitted. “I was trying to keep it really low — a bit of a Seve shot — caught a branch and just missed the ball completely.”

But the five-time major winner flipped the narrative almost instantly. He pulled driver on the short, treacherous par-4 15th, nearly reached the green, and rolled in his first of three birdies over the closing stretch. The late burst hauled him to two-under for the tournament and within seven of the lead.

“It would have been a real downer for everyone if I wasn’t here for the weekend,” he said. “I needed those last four holes. I don’t feel like I’m out of it.”

A huge buzz surrounds the event’s return to Royal Melbourne for the first time since 1991, and Scott — the 2009 champion — said the atmosphere is unlike anything he has experienced at the championship.

“We’ve had some great Australian Opens,” he said, “but it’s been a while since it’s felt this big. The hype is real. I’m proud to be playing in front of these crowds — they’re turning up in force for Rory.”