A late birdie blitz helped Nathan Holman open up a commanding lead on day two of the Maybank Championship Malaysia.
The Australian came into the second round with a one-shot lead and was overtaken by Danny Willett, Jorge Campillo, Soomin Lee and Miguel Tabuena, who all got to eight under par in the morning session.
Holman soon regained his lead, though, as he birdied the third, fourth and sixth to turn in 32 and become the first man this week to get into double figures.
A hat-trick of further gains from the 15th then catapulted him to 13 under but a new challenge was emerging in the form of Richard Bland, who was on a birdie charge of his own.
The Englishman had picked up five shots in his 14 holes on Friday to get to ten under just as the rain began to come down at Royal Selangor Golf Club.
Holman was playing in just his 16th European Tour tournament when he won the Australian PGA Championship in December and he is now on course to make it two wins in his first 20 events.
He came to life after the turn, getting up-and-down from the right of the 13th before dropping his first shot of the week on the next. The 24 year old put his approaches on the 15th and 16th inside ten feet for two more birdies and then drained a 20-footer on the penultimate hole to sign for a 65.
Bland is looking for his first win in his 378th attempt and was yet to drop a shot this week as he approached the closing stages of his round.
The Englishman already had birdies on the 13th, 15th and first when he knocked in a long putt on the second and followed it with a brilliant chip on the next to set up another birdie.
World Number 13 Willett had battled to a 69 despite feeling ill and had a two-shot lead when he rolled in a 15-foot birdie on the fifth. But a bogey on the seventh allowed the chasing pack to close and the Englishman was soon caught and passed.
Lee is playing in just his second European Tour event and had held the lead at nine under with birdies at the third, 13th, 14th and 15th but a dropped shot on the penultimate hole saw the South Korean drop back.
Spaniard Campillo had five birdies and three bogeys in his 69 while Filipino Tabeuna also shook off illness in an unblemished 68 with birdies on the third, fourth and 13th.
Thongchai Jaidee and Marcus Fraser had a pair of 69s to sit seven under, with Masahiro Kawamura and Thaworn Wiratchant a further shot back.
American Casey O'Toole holed a seven iron from 193 yards for a hole-in-one on the 12th which won him a million Hilton Hotels points.
