Bradley Dredge shot a second successive round of 66 to take the clubhouse lead during the second day of the M2M Russian Open.
The Welshman, who began the day one stroke behind overnight leaders Daniel Gaunt and Scott Jamieson, did not drop a shot on Friday, firing five birdies to move to ten under par overall.
Starting from the tenth tee, Dredge picked up three shots in his first four holes before making another gain on the par five 18th to reach the turn in 32.
The 42 year old notched another birdie at the third before parring the final six holes to climb to the top of the leaderboard.
Dredge was thrilled with his performance. He said: “I’m delighted. Back to back 66s and no dropped shots so I’m very pleased with that.
"The pin positions are the course's main defence and they were quite tough today, you had to be careful going into the greens.
“I found the greens to be absolutely perfect today, I got the speed and got the lines spot on and I putted great today.
“If I could get two more rounds of 66 that would be tough to beat but it’s only halfway through.
"I’m in a great position and it’ll be interesting to see what the afternoon groups do, but there is a long way to go."
Gaunt sits two shots behind Dredge after carding four birdies and two bogeys on his way to a second-round score of 69.
The Australian made a strong start, picking up three shots on his front nine before adding another birdie immediately after the turn.
But Gaunt, who also began his round at the tenth, bogeyed the fourth and eighth holes to drop back to eight under.
He said: “I got off to a decent start again today - hit some good shots early on, and then on my back nine – the front nine – it just stalled a little bit and I found the pin positions pretty tough. If you missed them on the wrong spots there was a run-off so I was a little bit cautious.
"I’m in a good position for the weekend though.
“The greens were a bit slower, especially on the back nine, I found the grain came into play a bit more.
"I had to give them a bit of a whack, so they were definitely softer after the rain and you could go at the pins but at the same time you had to be cautious.
“I’ve been happy with the way I’ve stuck in, been patient and played one shot at a time."
England's Ben Evans and Spain's Pablo Martin Benavides are one stroke further back on seven under after respective rounds of 68 and 67.
