BMW PGA Championship: Ryan Fox, Daniel Hillier, Kazuma Kobori through to the weekend

Kazuma Kobori sat in a tie for 16th at the BMW PGA Championship with play suspended late in the second round. Photo / AFP

All three Kiwis have ticked the first box in their hunt for the BMW PGA Championship.

Kazuma Kobori, Daniel Hillier and Ryan Fox are all set to make the cut when play resumes tonight, after the second round was suspended late in the day at the Wentworth Club in Surrey.

Kobori leads the trio in a tie for 16 at six-under-par after his second-straight round of 69 saw him move 18 places up the leaderboard. The 23-year-old carded five birdies and two bogeys in his round and moves into the weekend in fine form.

He sat six shots back from leader Hideki Matsuyama, whose impressive eight-under-par second round saw him surge to the top of the leaderboard.

Hillier also goes into the weekend with some good golf under his belt, however he was only able to come away with even par in his second round to sit in a tie for 44th at four-under. Hillier carded three bogeys in his round, but each time he was able to get the shot back with a birdie within the next three holes.

For the 27-year-old from Wellington, there is plenty to play for as he is currently in the hunt for a PGA Tour card through the DP World Tour, where the top 10 players in the standings at the end of the season who don’t already have a PGA Tour card are granted one. Coming into this week’s tournament, Hillier sat 12th in that list.

Elsewhere, Ryan Fox recovered nicely from a shaky first round to likely sneak into the weekend on the cut line.

Fox finished at one-over in his first round to sit well down the leaderboard, but shot up 45 places after his second-round effort as he carded a blemish-free three-under 69.

The 38-year-old, who won the prestigious event in 2023, sat in a tie for 61st and looked set to make his way into the weekend by the barest of margins.

On the LPGA Tour, Dame Lydia Ko enjoyed a strong second round in the Kroger Queen City Championship, moving 18 spots up the leaderboard with a three-under 69 to sit in a tie for 27th after two rounds.

It wasn’t without some late disappointment for the Hall of Famer. Going five-under through 16 holes, a double bogey on the par-four 17th limited her move up the leaderboard.

She goes into the weekend sitting at five-under for the tournament, while fellow Kiwi Fiona Xu withdrew from the tournament.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.