Golf: Giles on a mission to win in Melbourne

It may be his choice of movie but Sydney golfer Matthew Giles is hoping winning the Australian Masters doesn't prove to be Mission Impossible.

The 22-year-old planned to treat himself to an afternoon cinema session to watch the Tom Cruise movie after backing up his opening four-under 67 at Victoria Golf Club with a 68 in the second round to be seven under for the tournament.

A win in Melbourne could be a turning point for Giles, who promised so much as a junior but has endured a disappointing past 12 months on the second-tier United States Nationwide Tour.

Giles, from Cronulla but now based in America, won the 2006 world junior title in San Diego and, as a reward, was grouped with Greg Norman at the Australian Open at Royal Sydney.

He then took up a golf scholarship at the University of Southern California, forgoing the path chosen by Aaron Baddeley and Jason Day, before turning pro in June last year.

Last month at Coolum, he led the Australian PGA with seven holes to play before fading to a tie for 14th.

"I had a rough finish to the Nationwide season and I decided not to go to Q school and come home and work on some things," Giles said.

"I was playing through a few changes to my swing and for 65 holes it was really good.

"Unfortunately I just hit a couple of bad tee shots in the closing stretch but it was good to get in position.

"Hopefully I can draw on that."

While Giles outdrove Norman as a 17-year-old, his short game was the highlight at Victoria.

"I didn't hit the ball as well as in the first round but my short game was good so I'll just try to keep that going."

He intends to return to his base in Scottsdale, Arizona, and play on the Nationwide Tour, where he will have conditional status.

- AAP