Luke Donald is on course to become World Number One after a second round of 65 moved him into a one shot lead at The Heritage at Hilton Head.
The 33 year old is currently ranked number three but, with current rankings leader Martin Kaymer having a week off and Lee Westwood playing in a tournament worth fewer ranking points in Indonesia, a win in south Carolina would move Donald to the head of the standings.
The Englishman had opened with a four under 67, and he was in imperious form as he racked up five birdies on the front nine.
He dropped a shot at the tenth but picked up two more at the 11th and 15th to move a stroke clear of first-round leader Garrett Willis on ten under par.
"I got off to a great start, again, birdieing the first two holes gave me some good momentum," said Donald.
"I played that front nine really well. The back nine is a little bit tougher, but, again, I did a lot of good things today, drove it reasonably well.
"Some of my misses were in good places where I could get a good up-and-down. It was a solid day."
Willis, whose decision to continue with his conventional putter instead of switching to a belly putter yielded a seven under 65, could not keep up his high standards from the first day as he started the front and back nines with bogeys in a round of 69, but he remains in the fight for victory.
Camilo Villegas was three under on the day as the Colombian moved into a tie for third while Jim Furyk and Masters contender Jason Day were two of the big movers on the day as they also moved to eight under with five under and six under rounds respectively.
Ian Poulter is a shot further back after a flawless round of 66, with Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell at two under following his 69.
But Poulter and McDowell's Ryder Cup team-mate Francesco Molinari missed the cut after the Italian posted a three over par 74 to leave him four over overall.
