Nicolai von Dellingshausen matched the lowest round of his professional career to card a 62 and open up a three shot lead heading into the weekend at the 2021 Tenerife Open.
The German does not have full playing privileges on the European Tour but he looked very much at home at Golf Costa Adeje as he moved to 16 under to lead the way from home favourite Pep Angles.
Spaniard Eduard Rousaud, Australian Scott Hend, Scotsman Scott Jamieson - who fired a course record 61 - and Finn Kalle Samooja were then at 12 under.
A consistent performer on the European Challenge Tour over the last four seasons, Von Dellingshausen is playing just his 16th European Tour event this week and going in search of a first top ten.
He was in contention on Sunday at the recent Austrian Golf Open before a closing 74 dropped him out of the top 25, but the 28-year-old believes he has brought the lessons from that experience to the Canary Islands.
"I don’t know whether it’s the course but I’ve been working on staying in the present a lot more and that’s one of the biggest achievements - it means it doesn’t have anything to do with the course," he said.
"That’s what I took from the Sunday in Austria. I’m a thinker, so I like being more in the future or in the past, it’s a big challenge to stay in the present moment - I think I’ve done that a lot better the last two days."
Von Dellingshausen added a birdie eagle finish to seven birdies and a bogey in round two and was delighted with his day's work.
"Just another great day in the office," he said. "I played well tee to green, had a couple of good putts but just stiffed it a lot more than I did yesterday with crucial up-and-downs.
"Just a great day, going out in the morning, close to eight, nobody in front, perhaps no wind on the front nine."
Hend made a rapid start with a birdie on the first and then four in a row from the third to get to double figures.
In the group in front, Von Dellingshausen joined him with a hat-trick of gains from the third but he dropped a shot on the eighth and, with Hend responding to bogeys on the seventh and eighth with a birdie on the ninth, the pair were both nine under at the turn.
They then went blow for blow, each making three birdies from the 11th to the 13th, but while Hend bogeyed the 16th before making a two putt gain on the last for a 64, Von Hellingshausen found another gear.
He birdied the 15th and 17th and then made a 20 foot putt from the fringe on the 18th to lead by four.
Angles was among the afternoon starters and he fired a bogey free 64 with birdies on the first, fourth, sixth, ninth, tenth, 13th and last.
Jamieson started his round with four birdies and added two more on the seventh and ninth to turn in 29 before also making gains on the 11th, 13th and 17th.
That meant an albatross on the last would see him go sub 60 and just like in the third round of the 2013 Portugal Masters, he had a shot for a 59.
His effort was on line but could not make it up the ridge and rolled off the green, with two putts handing him a closing birdie and the course record.
Rousaud is playing just his second event as a professional on the European Tour this week but he certainly looks very much at home and his 66 was bogey free with birdies on the 11th, 18th, first, eighth and ninth.
Samooja was five under after five holes with the help of an eagle on the first but could not make any more progress as he signed for a 66.
South African Dean Burmester, South Korea's Yikeun Chang, American Sean Crocker and Dane Thorbjørn Olesen were five shots off the lead.
