Cameron Wilson in contention at Australian Master of the Amateurs

MELBOURNE, Australia (Jan. 8, 2014) -- Australian Simon Viitakangas shot a second consecutive 70 and leads by a shot after two rounds of play at the 2014 Australian Master of the Amateurs at Royal Melbourne Golf Club but a host of contenders from the U.S. and the host country are not far behind. New York-area amateur Cameron Wilson, who plays collegiately at Stanford, is just one shot back following a second-round 69 on Wednesday. Wilson, the 29th-ranked player in the Golfweek/amateurgolf.com U.S. Player Rankings, shot 72 in the opening round but came back brilliantly for a 3-under par 69 --- so far, tied for the lowest score of the tournament. Wilson balanced six birdies against just three bogeys during his second round, including birdies on Nos. 12, 13 and 15 to close his round in style. A win at the Master of the Amateurs would be Wilson's biggest win to date and no doubt catapult him towards the Top 10 in the U.S. rankings. Fellow New York-area golfer Max Buckley, who played at Southern Methodist, is tied for fourth place after following up his first-round 72 with a 1-under 71 on Wednesday. Sixth-ranked Brandon Hagy of Cal shot 73-72 during the event's opening rounds and sits tied for 10th, five shots off the pace set by Viitakangas, who'll head into Round 3 of the 72-hole championship holding the lead. Other notable players in contention include: Cory Crawford, Australia (73-69, 3rd), Todd Sinnott, Australia (74-69, T4), Rick Lamb, Tennessee (76-72, T23), Jordan Niebrugge, Oklahoma State (76-72, T23) and defending champion Viraat Badhwar, Australia (73-77, T33). For a full run down of the 36-hole scores, use the link below.