Adam Scott got what he felt he was entitled to in the wind and rain at Huntingdale Golf Club.

And it was good enough to give him a shot at the Australian Masters title and his first professional victory on home soil.

Scott battled through some brutal weather for the second successive day to shoot a three-under par 69 that left him three shots behind surprise leader Steve Collins.

"I played pretty well and I don't think I left too many out there," Scott said.

"I think I got what I deserved."

Early in his round, though, he wouldn't have been so sure.

The player regarded by many as the next Greg Norman began the second round with three bogeys in his first five holes, turning a two-shot overnight deficit into a potential disaster.

He then eagled the 515m, par five sixth hole and sneaked around the turn in one over.

Four birdies on the way home hauled him back up the leaderboard, leaving him poised for a weekend push toward his first Australian win.

While the appalling weather took its toll on the field, leaving only a handful of players better than par, Scott was one who seemed unfazed by the conditions.

"It seems like I have played in this all year, it's no big deal at all," he said.

"I've had my waterproofs on all year, umbrellas up, a lot of towels in the bag.

"I really didn't find it much of a problem."

For Scott, a prominent position on the leaderboard is to be expected.

But for Collins, the second round leader, it is almost unique.

A winner of only one minor tournament in 10 years as a professional, Collins is in unfamiliar territory.

But he is handling it with skill and comparative ease.

Collins, the first round leader after a four-under par 68, made an awful start to his round, bogeying the opening two holes.

A birdie two at the third hole halted the slide, but his resurrection began properly at the seventh hole where Collins began a run of four successive birdies and five in six holes.

And it was all achieved without too much thought.

"To be quite honest, I wasn't thinking much out there at all," Collins said.

"My philosophy is to do the best I can and whatever happens, happens."

Collins now takes on the previously unknown role of leading a tournament into the final two rounds.

But he believes he is ready for the challenge.

"I'll continue to do the best I can, if it happens, it's great," he said.

"If it doesn't, there are a million more tournaments out there for me to develop as a person and a golfer."

Also in contention thanks to birdies at the 17th and 18th - two of the toughest holes on the course - is Sydney's Peter Lonard.

The joint winner of last weekend's Australian PGA championship, Lonard is at two under along with Scott Gardiner of New South Wales.

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