Ian Poulter surged into a three shot lead early in the third round of the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World as he seeks consecutive European Tour wins.
Having narrowly failed to defend his Barclays Singapore Open title two weeks ago after a final round in which he could not buy a putt, The Ryder Cup star went on to land the UBS Hong Kong Open six days later.
And his form showed no signs of letting up as the 34 year old birdied the second and third at Jumeirah Golf Estates to reach 11 under for the week.
His compatriots Lee Westwood, Paul Casey and Ross Fisher were all three adrift after five holes, alongside Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee.
Race to Dubai leader Martin Kaymer had a mixed start to his round, with three bogeys and two birdies in six holes leaving him at seven under par.
The German looks set to become European Number One on Sunday, despite the best efforts of Graeme McDowell.
The US Open Championship winner played the back nine in 33 for a third round 69 to reach two under for the week, but needing a top three finish to have any chance of preventing Kaymer winning The Race to Dubai, he was only tied 28th with a round to play.
While he looked set to become European Number One, Kaymer almost certainly needed to win the tournament to take the World Number One spot from Lee Westwood, and he trailed his Ryder Cup teammate over the opening holes.
