England's Ian Poulter shook off a bout of tonsilitis to claim the halfway lead in the Moroccan Open in Rabat.
Irishmen Paul McGinley and Philip Walton lie in fourth place, at four under along with six other players.
Poulter fired a superb second round 67 at Dar Es Salam for an eight under par total of 138, two shots ahead of American Craig Hainline, who carded a 72.
Sweden's Robert Karlsson and France's Thomas Levet were another stroke adrift with first round leader Paul McGinley and Wales' David Park, runner-up in this event on his European Tour debut two years ago, among eight players on four under.
Poulter finished second in this event last year on his way to winning the Rookie of the Year title, clinching the honour with his first European Tour title at the Italian Open in Sardinia.
"One better would be acceptable," said the 25-year-old. "And I suppose anything else is unacceptable.
"You look at your results last year and want to do better this time and if I did that here it would be a fantastic result. Winning [in Sardinia] just proves you can go out and do it andnothing has really changed this season."
PA Sport