Cormac Sharvin appears to be determined to seal his Walker Cup place in double quick time.

Having finished second in the Lytham Trophy and the Irish Amateur Open in successive weeks to become the highest ranked Irish player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, he tied for the lead at the halfway stage of the Carrick Neill Scottish Open Stroke Play Championship on Saturday.

Scores

As the Scottish Golf Union reported:

It’s the tale of the Englishman, the Irishman, the Welshman and the Scotsman after day two of the Carrick Neill Scottish Open Stroke Play Championship

Over the wonderful Moray links, Marco Penge (Golf at Goodwood), Cormac Sharvin (Ardglass), Owen Edwards (Llanwern) and Bearsden’s Ewen Ferguson (pictured top) sit at the summit on four-under-par ahead of Sunday’s final 36 holes.

Remarkably, the quartet have all fired two rounds of 69 to lead the chase for one of the biggest prizes on the premier GB&I amateur circuit, a stroke ahead of two other Scots, Greig Marchbank from Thornhill and The Nairn Golf Club’s Sandy Scott.

Sharvin is in the initial Walker Cup squad for September’s match against the US at Royal Lytham and will fancy his chances of boosting his selection hopes with victory at Lossiemouth.

But Ferguson, who now has Walker Cup ambitions himself, is a player very much in form after two domestic 72-hole wins already in 2015, while Penge and Edwards are also finding the Highland links to their liking.

With the top 17 players only separated by four stokes, there is all to play for on Sunday, with Glenbervie’s Graeme Robertson, another Walker Cup squad man, in the pack at two under par.

Dumfries & County’s Liam Johnston, one of the first round leaders, saw his hopes fade after a 77 in round two, 10 strokes more than his opening burst. The top 40 players and ties made the cut for the final two rounds, with Scottish Boys champion Will Porter (Carnoustie) among those on the four over par qualifying mark.