Colin Montgomerie made the biggest early move at the BMW International Open third round in Munich.
Last year's Ryder Cup Captain, presented with a pair of lederhosen on his 48th birthday on Thursday, made the cut with nothing to spare on two under par last night.
But when he resumed this morning, four birdies in five holes from the fourth led to an outward 32 and a rise from joint 57th to 15th, only four behind halfway leaders Henrik Stenson and George Coetzee.
The charge also kept alive Montgomerie's hopes of earning an Open Championship place this weekend.
He needs to finish first or second for that, however, and the eight-time European Tour Number One has not done that for nearly three years.
Among the players he overtook was former Ryder Cup teammate Sergio Garcia, who is also seeking an Open Championship spot and needs a top-four finish. He was on four under par and in a tie for 30th overnight.
Swede Stenson and South African Coetzee led by a stroke from Spain's Pablo Larrazabal, another yet to qualify for Sandwich.
Montgomerie bogeyed the tenth, but returned to six under with a three on the demanding 490 yard, par four 14th.
Going even better by then, however, was Indian Shiv Kapur, who had a hat-trick of birdies from the third and then eagled the long sixth to rocket to eight under and joint fourth place.
Kapur completed a brilliant front nine 30 with another birdie at the long ninth and so started for home in third place with Larrazabal.
Garcia could not quite match that, but he picked up shots on the third, sixth, eighth and ninth for a fine outward 32 that put him joint fifth.
