A dramatic second round at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic saw Rafa Cabrera-Bello take a one-shot lead but 35 players, including World Number Two Rory McIlroy, were within six shots of the Spaniard.
Let's take a look at what some of the leading contenders had to say after they finished their rounds on Friday.
Ernie Els
The three-time champion fired a 67, including a brilliant eagle on the 18th, to get to nine under and held at least a share of the lead right up until Cabrera-Bello holed his birdie putt on the last.
"I love this golf course. I've played it since '93 so I know it well," he said.
"I feel like I'm looking forward to the weekend. I'm not dreading the greens. That's where I've been there for the last two or three years since I won The Open Championship.
"I feel very different. I feel like I don't mind making a two-footer or a four-footer. I feel I can do that, and my ball-striking has been okay. So I'm looking forward to the weekend."
Trevor Fisher Jnr
The South African started on the tenth and turned in 35 before back-to-back birdies sent him to nine under, and he had a chance to take the lead on his own with a short putt on the eighth.
"The goal is to keep bogeys off and try and make as many pars as I can, and there are birdie chances out there," he said. "If the putter gets hot, we'll sink a few. So that's the goal. We'll see if it works for two more days.
"You have to try to keep the mistakes definitely off the card. Things just have to flow. You need momentum and you have to sink one or two putts here and there, it just keeps everything going.
"I've got a lot of hard work ahead of me. I put my head down and obviously keep working hard. It's not going to be easy and nobody is going to give it to me, so I know what I have to do.
Rory McIlroy
The defending champion and World Number Two was outside the cut line at one point but four birdies in his last six holes saw him record a level par 72 and get back to four under, six shots off the lead.
"I felt like I played some decent golf out there," he said. "I missed a few short putts. I just wasn't really committing to the lines I was picking. A couple of tentative putts, a couple of loose shots. Overall a decent finish. If I can get off to a decent start tomorrow, you never know.
"There's a lot of players between myself and the lead but at the same time, I've come back from bigger deficits than this, and this is one of my favourite places.
"If I can get off to a faster start tomorrow, you never know, and I'll get better conditions as well. I'll be out a little earlier. The greens and the course in general got very firm and very fast out there, so hopefully I can get out in the morning and post a good score."
