Thorbjørn Olesen and Martin Kaymer made moves up the leaderboard but none of the early starters could catch overnight leader Clément Sordet midway through day two of the Nordea Masters.
The Frenchman entered the day at Hills Golf Club with a two-shot lead and an early birdie in his second round moved him to nine under and maintained that cushion over the players in the clubhouse.
American Hunter Stewart carded a 68 to sit at seven under, a shot clear of Dane Olesen, two-time Major Championship winner Kaymer and Australian Adam Bland.
Sordet made a birdie on the 11th in his first seven holes to lead the way, a shot clear of local favourite Christofer Blomstrand, who was three under after four holes.
Thomas Aiken, Scott Jamieson, Lee Slatery and Paul Waring were all at seven under playing the front nine, with Søren Kjeldsen a shot further back after five holes.
Chris Hanson and Sébastien Gros recorded holes-in-one on the fifth and sixth respectively to take the season's tally to 28 as two aces were made on the same day for the third time in 2018.
Olesen's maiden Rolex Series win at the Italian Open prompted a run of five top 15s in his last eight starts and he is looking to boost his hopes of a Ryder Cup debut at Le Golf National this week.
A birdie-birdie start from Richard Green put him within one of the lead but the South African bogeyed the 13th and Olesen was the next man to get within touching distance.
The five-time European Tour winner birdied the 12th before a run of four in a row from the 15th catapulted him up the leaderboard.
He dropped a shot on the first and with Green birdieing the 18th, the 47 year old was the nearest challenger once again.
Bogeys on the first, second and sixth saw Green slip back, while Olesen took advantage of the par five third to get back to seven under.
He would soon be joined by Stewart who, after birdieing the 12th and dropping a shot on the 15th, picked up strokes on the 16th and 18th to turn in 32.
An Olesen bogey on the eighth after missing the green and a Stewart bogey on the first meant Sordet was soon back where he started the day - two ahead.
Bland was the next man to cut the gap as he recovered from a wobble around the turn with three birdies in four holes.
He birdied the 11th and eagled the par four 12th but bogeys on the 18th and first left him four shots off the lead.
The left-hander bounced back with gains on the second and third and when he holed a brilliant 25-footer on the fifth, he was the nearest challenger.
A bogey on the eighth then dropped Bland back into the group at six under and he was leapfrogged by Stewart who birdied the same hole.
Kaymer endured a roller coaster of a round with seven birdies and three bogeys.
The German turned in 33 and went birdie-bogey on the first and second before some brilliant iron play brought gains on the fourth and fifth. A bogey was to follow but a 12-footer on the ninth handed Kaymer a big finish.
Hanson was two over for his round before he produced his ace on the fifth - holing a nine iron from 163 yards - and he added four birdies and a bogey in a 67 to get to five under.
Gros then joined him at that mark as he posted his ace with a seven iron from 197 yards at the sixth along with six birdies and two bogeys in a 64 that was the lowest round of the day so far.
Tom Lewis, Jazz Janewattananond, Andrea Pavan and Marc Warren were all also in the clubhouse at five under.
