ISPS HANDA - CHAMPIONSHIP - Day two digest

Everything you need to know from day two in Japan.

There was a four-way tie at the top, Valhalla was on the mind, there were fast starts and big finishes and Matthieu Pavon was at it again on day two of the ISPS HANDA - CHAMPIONSHIP.

Here is everything you need to know from Friday at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba Course.

Leading quartet

Local favourite Taihei Sato fired a brilliant 62 to join DP World Tour stars Sam Bairstow, Yannik Paul and Sebastian Söderbergat the top of the leaderboard. After round one was completed early in the morning following Thursday's fog delay, Englishman Bairstow was the man to set the target with a 64 but he would not be alone for long. Söderberg and Paul joined him at ten under with rounds of 64 and 65 respectively, before Sato completed his eight under par effort to make it a four-way tie. England's Matthew Southgate and Frenchman Tom Vaillant were then at eight under after rounds of 65 alongside Japan's Taiki Yoshida, who had three holes to complete on day three after going out in the final group.

Asian Swing battle intensifies

While Bairstow and Söderberg are both battling for the victory this week, the duo will also have other prizes on their mind. The duo sit sixth and fourth respectively on the Asian Swing Rankings with just the Volvo China Open to come after this week's event. The player who finishes top will win $200,000 and gain entry to the Back Nine events and the leading DP World Tour member (not otherwise exempt) will also qualify for the Genesis Scottish Open. Those who finish in positions one to three will also be exempt into the U.S. PGA Championship and Söderberg is keeping his eye on the prize. "You’ve got to win," he said. "We’ve got three spots and there are four events, so the winners have the front seat. You probably need a win."

Fast starts........

Playing partners Söderberg and Paul were not hanging about at the start of their rounds, with the Swede making four birdies in a row and Paul picking up shots on his first three.

..........and big finishes

Southgate birdied seven of his last 11 holes, including his final four, to get to eight under. The Englishman has been struggling with a knee injury but having made changes to his swing with 2010 BMW PGA Championship winner Simon Khan and also worked on the mental side of his game, he is ready to challenge for a first victory in his 262nd appearance. "It’s a dream to win tournaments on this Tour, so when I get a chance I don’t want to back away from it," he said. "Hopefully I keep playing like I did today. I might be able to cause a few problems on Sunday if I can play like that for the next 36 holes."

On a string Pt II

Following up on yesterday's remarkable display of spin control, Pavon was at it again.