Justin Rose opened up a one shot lead at the halfway stage of the UBS Hong Kong Open but admitted he had one eye just down the leaderboard at Ryder Cup team-mate Ian Poulter.
Rose followed up his opening 65 with a 66 to get to nine under at Hong Kong Golf Club and establish a slender advantage over Lucas Bjerregaard with Poulter and Lu Wei-chih a further shot back.
All eyes have been on Poulter this week after he made a late entry to the tournament following dropping out of the top 50 in the World Rankings.
With his place in the field at the World Golf Championships - HSBC Champions under threat, Poulter made a late dash to the Far East in order to guarantee he played the 13 European Tour events necessary to secure his membership for 2016.
And with the 2010 champion here just two shots back heading into the weekend, Rose believes his friend and rival will provide a major threat to his position at the top of the leaderboard.
"Poulter is a past champion and he's on the leaderboard," he said. "He's always good when he's got something to prove, and he's probably a dangerous guy now that he's outside the Top 50 in the world, and I know that he'll be desperate to get back in it.
"He always plays well when he has motivation, so he's obviously going to be tough to beat too."
Rose is the highest ranked player in the field at World Number Seven and, after starting on the 11th, picked up birdies on the 14th, 18th, third and eighth holes to get to eight under before dropping his first shot of the week on the difficult ninth.
But the 2013 US Open champion bounced straight back with a birdie on the tenth to get out in front on his own and was satisfied with his performance.
"Very happy with that," he said. "I felt like I struggled with the recovery overnight. I just felt like body was sore this morning, and today was definitely more of a struggle than yesterday.
"Yesterday I played such a clean round, I guess it was always going to be more of a struggle. I made a few more mistakes today but salvaged par very well quite a few times.
"Finally the bogey that threatened a few times reared its head on number nine but I guess I played 34 holes without making a mistake. It's almost - you know it's inevitable you're going to make one mistake.
"It's out of the way. Don't have to think about it now. So continue to try and play good golf over the weekend, make some birdies, and keep moving forward.
"I again hit a lot of good putts today, and my putts that aren't going in are pretty much threatening the cup, I feel that's good.
I feel good about my game and I feel like my chances are good, and if I stay in my process, things should work out well, but you can't afford to get ahead - Justin Rose
Bjerregaard has three top tens in his last five starts and the big hitting Dane continued his fine form on his first nine as he picked up shots on the 11th, 13th, 15th and 18th with a bogey at the 17th his only blemish.
Another birdie followed on the third and, while he dropped shots on the sixth and the ninth, he bounced back both times with birdies to get to second place on his own.
Poulter also recorded a 66 as he made a flying start with birdies on the 12th, 14th, 17th and 18th. He dropped a shot on the first but then got it back on the third in spectacular fashion as he splashed out of the bunker and nailed a 35-foot putt.
Another birdie followed on the fourth before he dropped a shot on the ninth to sit at seven under alongside Lu.
The overnight leader had got back into a share of top spot after his first nine holes as he recorded four birdies and a bogey but a double on the par five third saw him fall back.
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year contenders Matthew Fitzpatrick and Anirban Lahiri both shot second consecutive 67s to sit at six under alongside YE Yang who added a 66 to his opening 68.
Matt Ford needs to finish in the top 20 to keep his playing privileges for next season and he is also at six under alongside Nathan Holman who must finish third or better to keep his card.
Richard McEvoy needs to finish fourth or better to secure his place for 2016 and a 68 moved him to five under with Jeev Milkha Singh, who needs to finish in the top three, and Andrea Pavan who must win or finish second.
Graeme McDowell was also five under after a 69 containing five birdies and four bogeys, as was Gaganjeet Bhullar - a man who needs to win this week - who followed his opening 69 with a 66. Oliver Fisher and Lin Wen-tang were also in the group at five under.
American Ryder Cup star Patrick Reed fired a 69 to sit at three under but there was no such luck for countryman and World Number Eight Dustin Johnson who missed the cut at one over after a 72.
