Tiger Woods edged ahead of European order of merit winner Padraig Harrington after the second round of the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in Japan.
Woods, boosted by an early eagle, compiled a five-under-par 65 in benign conditions at Phoenix Country Club, moving within sight of his third successive victory while Harrington is his closest challenger after a solid 66.
The world number one finished on eight-under par with Harrington one behind. Ian Poulter produced a 64 to claim sole possession of third on six under, although fellow Englishman Justin Rose's 63 was the best round of the day at the island resort.
Woods began the day two behind Japan's Shingo Katayama after an opening 67 but, having clawed back an early shot, Woods seized the outright lead with a superb eagle at the 557-yard fourth.
After reaching the front edge of the green in two, Woods expertly holed a chip-and-run shot from 25 feet with a six-iron, celebrating with a fist pump and a cry of "Come on."
A hot putter helped Woods collect further birdies on the eighth, 11th and 13th during a stretch in which he was beginning to look unstoppable.
However, he dropped a shot at the 16th after an errant tee shot found the trees while Harrington's birdie on the final hole gave him a brief share of the lead.
But Woods immediately hit back, the 12-times major winner sinking a six-foot birdie putt on the 18th to reclaim the lead going into a weekend forecast to be wet and windy.
"I'm very happy to shoot 65. To have that be the lead is awfully nice," Woods told reporters. "Some of the guys really went low today. 'Rosie' shot 63.
"Paddy (Harrington) is playing well. It's going to be a very interesting weekend, especially with the weather coming in. It is supposed to be rainy and cool and breezy so it's going to be a tough weekend for all of us."
Harrington's challenge was helped by three birdies on the last six holes and the 2006 European Order of Merit winner was looking forward to going toe-to-toe with Woods this weekend.
"Seven under par is very good, 36 holes to go," Harrington said. "Keep plodding along and see what happens. The more you play with Tiger, the easier it gets. If you're playing with him every week it means you're playing good golf."
Overnight leader Katayama fell away slightly after an even-par 70, leaving him as the highest-placed Japanese in fourth at five under par. Rose ended the day in fifth on four under.
