Justin Rose hit top form in his bid to make it back-to-back wins for European golfers in America.
Five days after Rory McIlroy's Honda Classic victory, Rose followed his opening 69 with an eight under par 64 at the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami.
But it still was not good enough for the halfway lead. Playing partner Bubba Watson was only one outside the Doral Blue Monster course record with his 62.
Between them they had a better-ball 59 and at halfway in the second of this season's World Golf Championships they stood 12 under and 11 under respectively.
New World Number One McIlroy therefore found himself 12 behind with the back nine of his second round to come - and that after an eagle-birdie start to his day.
Going much better was Tiger Woods, second to the Northern Irishman last week after a closing 62. He was five under for the round and the tournament with three to play.
Rose resumed three behind overnight leaders Adam Scott and Jason Dufner, but wiped that out by starting with a hat-trick of birdies and picked up further strokes at the 16th and 17th to turn in 31.
Already a three-time winner in the States, the former European Tour Number One then moved to seven under for his first 11 holes by two-putting the long first and pitching to four feet on the next.
He repeated that three holes later, saved par from the rough on the 442 yard sixth and from fairway bunkers at the 454 yard seventh and long eighth.
Rose was three ahead at one point, but American left-hander Watson, also out in 31, finished much the stronger with birdies at the fifth and sixth and then a glorious eagle from six feet on the eighth.
Compatriot Keegan Bradley, holder of the US PGA Championship, was in third place at eight under and still had eight holes to play.
McIlroy was again playing with Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, the two players who could grab the number one spot back off him this weekend, and they were having much better days.
Donald was alongside Woods in 13th spot, while Westwood covered the outward half in 32, a massive improvement on his opening 76, and so was alongside the US Open Champion on level par.
Rose said of his round with Watson: "That was a fun round. We fed off each other's energy.
"I don't know whether they rolled the greens after the rain, but they rolled so smoothly."
He was not carrying European hopes alone as Martin Kaymer, Peter Hanson and Thomas Björn all stood seven under and in joint fourth - with Björn yet to drop a stroke all week.
Woods finished with a bogey-free 67, but was seven behind Watson, while McIlroy's two-putt birdies at the tenth and 12th still left him ten adrift.
And that became 11 adrift when he had his third bogey of the day on the 14th, with Westwood alongside him on one under with Donald five under like Woods.
After falling back with a double-bogey seven on the eighth, Scott played the remaining holes in four under and two closing birdies left him only two behind Watson.
Björn's second bogey-free 68 had him handily placed on eight under with Bradley and Hanson, while Donald had climbed to joint tenth on six under with two to go.
