Open champion Ernie Els carded a second-round 67 to move ominously into the lead in the Caltex Masters in Singapore.
Els fired an eagle and four birdies at Laguna National for an eight-under-par halfway total and remains firmly on course for a fourth consecutive victory.
Els, who won the Nedbank Challenge at the end of last year and the first two events on the US Tour this season, was one of 72 players unable to complete their opening rounds yesterday after thunderstorms brought an early end to play.
Today, Els finished his first round 69, four shots off the lead which English tour rookie Benn Barham now shared with Sweden's Daniel Chopra, who also returned to complete a first round of 65.
Starting on the 10th, Els was quickly back among the leaders with an eagle three on the 11th and birdies on the 15th and 16th. He negotiated the 17th safely in par and reached the turn in 32 before adding another birdie on the second to move to eight under.
That gave him a share of the lead with playing partner and defending champion Arjun Atwal, the first Indian golfer to win on the European Tour with his triumph here 12 months ago.
Atwal was joined in second place on seven under by Thailand-based Scot Simon Yates, who birdied the last to add a 69 to his opening 68.
Ireland's Gary Murphy was a shot further back on six under after recovering from losing a ball on his second hole to card a 68.
Murphy finished sixth at the qualifying school to regain the card he lost at the end of 2000 and has already made strides to ensure he retains it for next year with finishes of eighth and 15th in the two events in South Africa.