The American threw his putter into the lake by the 18th green and stormed off the course in Coolum after some dire golf left him 22 shots off the lead at the end of day two.

"He did not sign his card so that is an immediate disqualification," said tournament spokesman John Dunlop on Friday.

"Craig Parry, his playing partner, was marking his card. Craig's signature is on the card, John Daly's signature is not.

"He made no comment. He left the course without speaking to the media, without attending the scorer's hut so no one had an opportunity to speak to him.

"He walked straight back to his room. So we've had no official comment from John at all."

Moseley leads

Even had Daly signed his card, he would have missed the cut by eight strokes after a tumultuous round, which included five birdies, three bogeys, a double bogey and two triple bogeys.

Daly played in Australia despite the recent death of his mother. He will fly back to the United States to attend her funeral.

The other end of the leaderboard is dominated by homegrown players - New Zealand's Greg Turner is the only non-Australian in the top 13 at the halfway stage.

Jarrod Moseley leads on 13 under par after rounds of 65 and 66.

Aaron Baddeley is a shot behind after carding a seven-under-par 65 on Friday, and Peter Lonard one shot further back.