Julian Suri fired a second consecutive round of 67 to take a two shot lead into the weekend at the Hero Indian Open.
The American was heading home on Friday night 12 months ago at DLF Golf and Country Club after posting 76-82 but he was 24 shots better off than that this time around at ten under par.
South African George Coetzee finished his round with three birdies to sit at eight under alongside Swede Robert Karlsson, who ended his day with gains on the 17th and 18th.
England's Callum Shinkwin and Australian Scott Hend were then at seven under after firing the only bogey free rounds of the week so far.
Suri is playing just his second event of the season after undergoing surgery on an abdominal hernia but showed he was in fine health in New Delhi, picking up six shots in as many holes from the first to surge clear in the morning session.
“I put the foot down but I had the same mindset I had on the first nine," he said. "I hit it really well the whole day and I just tried to free it up a little bit on the second nine with my putting.
"I hit a lot of good shots and gave myself a ton of chances on the first nine and none of them dropped, particularly with speed and not hitting them hard enough. So, just try to free it up and putt with feel like I normally do."
The 27-year-old bogeyed the 16th and Shinkwin was soon alongside him at four under with gains on the second, third, eighth and ninth.
Suri moved back into the lead with a birdie at the first and Shinkwin joined him at the 12th but the 2017 Made in Denmark champion then produced his stunning run of scoring.
He chipped in at the third and put his second on the par five next to 12 feet before rolling in an eagle putt.
His lead was just two shots as Shinkwin birdied the very difficult 14th but a 15 foot left to righter on the par three fifth had him three ahead.
An approach to three feet on the next made it six shots gained in six holes and Suri was four clear and the first man this week into double figures.
He dropped a shot on the next after finding trouble right off the tee and failing to get up and down but he was let off as Shinkwin missed very good birdie chances on the 16th and 17th.
The 25-year-old did make a birdie on the last after getting on the green at the par five in two but Suri drove the par four ninth to get back to ten under and lead by three.
In the afternoon, Coetzee had a roller coaster of a front nine with four birdies and two bogeys and when he also made a gain on the 12th he was still five back.
He put on a putting masterclass over the next few holes to stay at five under and then holed a very long putt at the 16th before hitting an excellent approach into the 17th and taking advantage of the last.
Karlsson, 49, made a gain on the first and an eagle on the fourth and when he tapped in a three footer on the eighth he was in outright second at eight under.
The 2008 European Number One bogeyed the 12th and 14th to slip back but then produced his big finish.
Hend birdied the first and fourth, hit an exquisite chip on the ninth and holed a 25 footer on the 15th before missing good birdie chances on the 16th and last.
Thai 53-year-old Prayad Marksaeng was at six under, a shot clear of Japan's Masahiro Kawamura, with Finn Mikko Korhonen, Scot Richie Ramsay, England's Robert Rock and Austrian Matthias Schwab six shots off the lead.
There were two holes-in-one on Friday - taking the season's tally to seven - as Om Pratash Chouhan holed a six iron on the fifth and Daniel Nisbet holed a four iron on the third.
