Andy Sullivan launched himself into contention to claim back-to-back Portugal Masters titles after carding a stunning round of 61 on day two in the Algarve.
On another day of low scoring at Victoria Clube de Golf, the Englishman gave his army of supporters plenty of reasons to cheer by joining Marc Warren at the top of the leaderboard on 14 under par.
The Nuneaton native bagged ten birdies in a flawless display reminiscent of his performance 12 months ago, when he blitzed to victory by a record nine shots.
If Sullivan were to retain his trophy, he would create more history as no play has ever won the Portugal Masters in successive seasons.
Remarkably, Sullivan’s score was only the joint lowest of the day, as Richie Ramsay bettered his opening round by ten shots courtesy of 11 birdies and a solitary bogey.
But it is his fellow Scotsman Warren who is best placed to prevent Sullivan’s march to the title, having maintained his momentum from the first day with a second round of 65.
Padraig Harrington is just one shot off the lead on 13 under par after the three-time Major Champion signed for a round of 63 which included a chip-in birdie on the 11th hole.
The Irishman currently shares third place with Swede Jens Fahrbring who, at 174th in the Race to Dubai, would in all probability need to win the tournament in order to retain his playing privileges for next season.
Other players fighting for their lives include Mikko Korhonen, who is currently primed to jump into the all-important top 111 places in the Race to Dubai after moving to 11 under par. The same applies to Oli Fisher (114th) and Jason Scrivener (113th), who are on nine and eight under par respectively.
With heavy rain predicted to fall overnight and continue into Saturday morning, tournament officials have decided to play the third round with a two-tee start from 11am.
Andy Sullivan: “I knew I needed to go low today to get close to the leaders. So to go out there and shoot that score is absolutely fantastic. I had thoughts of 59 coming down the stretch there, but it wasn’t to be. But it’s still fantastic to being on top of the leaderboard and give myself a chance going into the weekend.
“The game’s felt good for a long time – the putter’s just been a bit cold. But today I holed a couple of good putts out there to get the momentum going. It only takes a couple of putts to go in, then you start seeing it go in all the time.
“I knew if I could get off to a quick start, I could get my supporters on my side and really use them to build the momentum – and it worked. They were cheering me on the whole way round. Every time they turn up I seem to play well, it might be expensive next year for me to bring them everywhere, but it’d be worth it. They’re amazing, and I can’t thank them enough for their support.”
Marc Warren: “It’s always tough to follow up a really good score like yesterday. So I tried to stay as patient as I possibly could out there, and it was nice to finish with a birdie three at the last.
“Once I had a good finish at the Dunhill Links which took care of my card, I feel as if a bit of pressure has come off me and I can look forward to trying to qualify for some big tournaments at the end of the year. It’s much nicer place to be playing your golf and enjoying it, as opposed to looking back over your shoulder all the time.”
Padraig Harrington: “I was holing a few putts today, so of course I was having fun. It’s nice to be making a few birdies, and I felt like I had home support out there because there are a lot of Irish people out here. I suppose it’s a little while since I’ve been getting those sort of cheers on the golf course, so I was appreciating it and enjoying it.”
