Ryder Cup winner Robert Karlsson holds a four-stroke lead over former champion Miguel Angel Jimenez at the midway of the Hong Kong Open after the Swede fired a second consecutive flawless six-under-par 64 around the Fanling course.
Scotland's Barry Hume, Irishman Graeme McDowell and another former winner at the Hong Kong Golf Club, Simon Dyson, lead a congested group containing 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir and South Africa's Trevor Immelman at seven-under.
Welshman Garry Houston failed to repeat the form shown during his opening round 63, but remains high on the leaderboard after a one-over 71 dropped him to six-under alongside Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Liang Wen-chong, overnight leader KJ Choi of Korea and Sweden's Daniel Chopra.
Damien Mcgrane is six-under-par after a 66, while Gary Murphy and Paul McGinley are four under and two under respectively. A 74 for 18-year-old Rory McIlroy means he will miss the cut on three over.
Karlsson admits he usually avoids the trip to Hong Kong after previously struggling around the quick Fanling greens but his new approach to the tricky short course paid off again with devastating effects.
The 38-year-old began where he left off by sinking a 15-foot birdie putt at the short par three second before picking up back-to-back shots at the par four seventh despite finding the trees off the tee, then at the short par-three eighth after nailing the tee shot to three feet to reach the turn three-under on the day.
Karlsson was at it again at the 10th, holing from 10 feet, before finishing his immaculate round with a 20-foot birdie putt at the tricky 17th and 10-footer at the last.
"I have understood exactly what I need to do to have a good score around this golf course and then it is up to me to do it. So far I have done well. I used my driver only once today at the sixth," said Karlsson, who held on to halfway leads on his way to victory at The Celtic Manor Wales Open and The Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe last year.
"I would give myself nine of 10 for yesterday and probably also a nine today even though it was a bit different today, they were very different nines. I missed birdie putts at both the par fives, three putted the 14th and missed from five feet at number three. But at the same time I was in trouble a couple of times today and saved myself.
"My target is to play tomorrow and right now that is my only target that I am focusing on. With the course in the condition it is in there are a lot of low scores out there, but it is important for me to keep going."
The best round of the day came from Immelman, who bounced back from his one-over-par 71 opening round with a marvellous bogey-free seven-under-par 63, while Weir leapt up the leaderboard with a second round six-under-par 64.
"I needed something special. My scores have been awful the past couple of weeks," said Immelman.
"I have been working hard on the range and something started feeling good. A lot of the times when something is feeling good on the range you can't take it on to the course, but today I felt comfortable."
