Patrick Reed produced a sublime round of 65 to shoot up the leaderboard at the Turkish Airlines Open with Matthias Schwab leading at -12.
The former Masters champion, buoyed by Tiger Woods selecting him for the Presidents Cup, bounced off Scottish prodigy Robert MacIntyre for the second day in a row.
MacIntyre went two better than Reed, firing a scorching 63 as the birdies rained in on the defenceless Montgomerie Maxx Royal.
“It was a steady, solid day,” Reed remarked. “I missed two shorties on par 5s, which seemed to hurt, and I didn’t quite give myself the opportunities that I wanted to the last five or six holes.
“It’s definitely something to build on, any time you shoot 7-under to start the round -- you say, hey, give you 7-under par and you have the chance of going out and playing or sign a 65, pretty sure I’d sign for a 65.”
BMW PGA champion Danny Willett is one back at -11 alongside Alex Noren, Thomas Detry and Ross Fisher.
While Justin Rose remains ominously placed, with a second successive 67 placing him at -10, just two behind Austrian Schwab, and content with his dream to three-peat here still very much alive.
“I put myself in position. The dream is alive, no doubt. To win a tournament -- I’ve probably been in worse positions than this,” Rose said.
“Last year I was in way worse shape after two rounds and just got it going on the weekend. I don’t feel like I’ve got it going yet. Maybe some of the other guys on the leaderboard have got it going and feel like they have played there couple of good rounds, whereas I don’t feel like I’ve got to that point yet. I’ve worked hard to be in a position.
“Doesn’t mean it’s going to come tomorrow or the next day but very rarely -- it’s hard to play four perfect rounds. So if I can build from here, obviously that would be a great place to be.”
