Chris Paisley and Adrien Saddier stormed into a four-shot lead following the conclusion of the second round at the BMW SA Open Championship Proudly hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni.
Paisley carded seven birdies and a bogey during a six-under par first round 66, but managed to better that by one with eight gains and one dropped shot to surge up the leaderboard and set a halfway target of 13 under par.
Saddier turned on the style as he scored his second unblemished round of the tournament to sign for a joint-course record 63 - which contained six birdies and an eagle to match the Englishman's score at Glendower Golf Club.
Paisley, who is looking to become the third Englishman in four years to win the event, said: "I can't wait for the weekend. Obviously, I have never been in this position before, so tomorrow, I'm just going to go and play and do my best.
"At the moment it's weird, I feel like I didn't play amazing. I certainly hope that I can keep that trend (of Englishmen winning the BMW SA Open) going."
I didn’t know I have a joint course record but it’s quite cool - Adrien Saddier
Paisley hit the birdie trail with back-to-back gains at the sixth and seventh to turn in 34 and sit one shot off morning leader Jacques Kruyswijk on eight under.
Following a flawless first round of four under par, Frenchman Saddier turned in 32 on his front nine after picking up a shot at the 13th and three straight birdies from the 15th.
A birdie at the tenth made Paisley joint-leader with South African Kruyswijk at nine under and when he picked up another shot on the par four 12th with a five foot putt, he took the outright lead.
Paisley found water with his tee shot at the next, which forced him to give a stroke back, but the World Number 289 immediately hit back to record a birdie two at the par three 14th to regain first place after the Frenchman carded his ninth gain of the tournament to move level with Kruyswijk.
The Englishman clipped his bunker shot to concessional range for a gain to extend his lead to 11 under before 15-foot birdie putts at the final two holes moved the 31 year old into a four-stroke lead
However, he was not alone as Saddier finished with an emphatic birdie-eagle-birdie to end his round nine under for the day and join Paisley as joint-leader as the pair both search for their maiden European Tour title.
"The finish was awesome," the Frenchman said. "I started very well, it was quite slow but after I made three birdies in a row on 15, 16 and 17, it was quite good.
"I didn’t know I have a joint course record but it’s quite cool. I’m excited for the weekend but there’s still 36 holes to play and we try to stay focused on the last two rounds."
Defending champion Graeme Storm missed the cut after finishing on one over par, despite a two-under par 70 during his second round, but player host Ernie Els made the weekend with a three-under par score for the tournament.
Kruyswijk, who earned his playing privileges through Qualifying School in November, recorded seven gains and two bogeys on his way to a second round 67 to sit in sole third place.
Two-time US Open Championship winner Retief Goosen rolled back the years as he signed for a five under 67, which included one eagle, six birdies and a bogey coming up to the last, but a double-bogey blemished his score and saw him drop back to eight under.
The lifetime European Tour member is joined by Scott Vincent, who registered the round of the morning as he rattled in seven birdies and one bogey to card an impressive 66, alongside overnight joint-leaders Brendan Grace and Chase Koepka for tied fourth.
Spain's Nacho Elvira is one shot further back, while South African trio Justin Walters, Rhys West and Jacques Blaauw, and South Korea's Soomin Lee and Italian Renato Paratore are tied for ninth on six under.
