Sam Horsfield admitted he was hunting for another score in the 50s as he became one of three players to card a course record 61 on day two of the 2021 Gran Canaria Lopesan Open.
Dane Thorbjørn Olesen was the first man to do it in the morning as he took the halfway lead at 14 under at Meloneras Golf and he was followed by Scot Connor Syme, who recorded the lowest round of his European Tour career.
Horsfield made a name for himself last year with his prowess for going seriously low, recording a 59 at Streamsong Black, a 58 at Champions Gate Country Club, and then tying the course record of 61 during the Betfred British Masters at Close House.
He was eight under for his round on Friday when he birdied the 16th and with a par five to finish, he admitted to telling caddie Mick Seaborn that he was looking to join Oliver Fisher in making a European Tour 59.
In the end, he had to settle for a 61 but the Englishman was delighted to follow up an opening 69 with a seriously low number and move to ten under.
"It was a very different story from yesterday. Yesterday I did not play well," he said.
"I took a nap and came back and worked on a few things on the range and I felt really good out there today.
"It was pretty funny. I told my caddie walking off 17 tee that we needed birdie-eagle finish for a 59.
"I gave myself a lot of opportunities and I feel like I'm putting really well so lots of hope for the weekend.
"I enjoy making birdies, I think everyone enjoys making birdies. But you still have to go out and make birdies, no one is writing down birdies on your scorecard before you play so you've got to put it in the right positions.
"You've still got to play good golf to play really well out here."
For Syme, Friday's round was the lowest of his European Tour career, eclipsing the 62 he recorded in the second round of the 2018 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.
After feeling his game was in good shape, Syme was bitterly disappointed with an opening 71 but equally delighted to follow it with a round ten shots better.
Make that THREE @hr59sam😲#GranCanariaLopesanOpen | @Workday pic.twitter.com/JHBNwzy7rK
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) April 23, 2021
"I've shot eight under quite a few times and I think the best of that would have been 62 in the Scottish a few years ago but nice to notch that by one today," he said.
"I feel like I've been playing really well, to be honest, and obviously I had a third a few weeks ago in Kenya and missed the cut the next week.
"I played really, really well when I was at home and I don't often really have that level of intensity when I'm back, to shoot low scores.
"Yesterday came as a bit of a shock to be honest, I didn't really see that coming from myself, just the way I've been playing. In 123rd place or something, it wasn't the start I was really hoping for having had three weeks off.
"Really nice to bounce back and I suppose it sort of comes with it - eight under after a couple of rounds is pretty solid golf. One high and one very low.
"Nice to be back in the tournament. The way I was positioned last night, I kind of set myself a target of seven under to make sure I was definitely here for the weekend and went a couple better than that - it was good."
