Dann hoping to go out with a Federal bang

It's his final tournament before turning professional and Charlie Dann's hoping to go out with a bang.

The 26-year-old leads the Federal Amateur Open by two shots after shooting back-to-back 67s to sit 10-under on Saturday.

Queensland golfer Charlie Dann's hoping to finish his last amateur tournament before turning professional with a win.

Queensland golfer Charlie Dann’s hoping to finish his last amateur tournament before turning professional with a win.Credit:Elesa Kurtz

Opening round leader Lukas Michel is second at eight-under, while Corey Lamb was a shot further back in third.

Adam Thorp's the best-placed local after his second-round 69 moved him into a tie for seventh and seven shots off the lead.

Grace Kim leads the women at seven-under, five shots ahead of her nearest competitor Doey Choi. Canberra's Isabelle Hawes is tied 17th at nine-over.

Dann, who played with Thorp over the opening two rounds, has one final crack at winning as an amateur.

The Queenslander's turning professional at the end of the Federal.

"It would be nice to get a win in my last amateur tournament leading in to being a pro," Dann said.

"Always on the cards over the last few years so I've just managed my ups and downs and timed it quite well.

"I was going to turn pro last year, but a few things didn't go my way so I reset, travelled a lot this year, played a lot of different tournaments around the world and reset into turning pro in December."

Regardless of what happens on the final day of the Federal, Dann's facing a hectic couple of days.

Not only does he have to play 36 holes for the final two Federal rounds on Sunday, but then he's driving to Sydney for Australian Open qualifying on Monday.

There he'll be one of 249 golfers competing for 10 spots in the main field.

"That's what a tour pro's got to go through all the time. They have to back up week by week by week," Dann said.

"It's a good thing to be busy, good preparation."

Not surprisingly, Dann's been happy with the way he's played over the opening two rounds.

His praise of the Federal greens was glowing and said he loved coming to Canberra for this event, having finished runner-up the last time he was here in 2016.

"If I could put down two scores at the start of the week I'd probably put these ones down. I'm very happy," Dann said.

"I probably played better today than I did yesterday for the same score.

"But these greens down here, they're some of my favourite greens in Australia whenever I get to play this tournament.

"I just see them going in really nicely."

Meanwhile, Canberra's Matthew Millar has slipped out of contention in the NSW Open at Twin Creeks on Saturday.

He shot a two-over 74 to drop to seven-under and 12 shots behind leader Jake McLeod.

McLeod holds a four-shot buffer from Blake Proverbs, with Harrison Endycott a shot further back going into Sunday's final round.

FEDERAL AMATEUR AT A GLANCE

Men: 1. Charlie Dann -8, 2. Lukas Michel -6, 3. Corey Lamb -5, 4. Nick Fuller, Aiden Didone -4.

Women: 1. Grace Kim -7, 2. Doey Choi -2, 3. Monica Johnson, Cassie Porter +2, 5. Jessica Pickwick, Jihye Park +4.

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