Marc Warren extended his overnight lead to three shots as the second round of the Portugal Masters got under way at Victoria Clube de Golfe.
The Scot fired an opening 63 on Thursday largely fuelled by a remarkable start that saw him make six birdies in his first six holes and, while he could not match that on day two, he did make three birdies to turn in 33 and move to 11 under.
That put him ahead of Dane Lucas Bjerregaard, Frenchman Raphaël Jacquelin, Scot Paul Lawrie and England's Robert Rock
Rock had almost matched Warren's exploits from Thursday, starting his second round with five birdies but just like the leader, he saw his momentum halted when he bogeyed the seventh.
Warren made his gains on the 12th, 14th and 15th.
Bjerregaard was also four under through eight holes having started on the back nine, with Jacquelin three under through eight and Lawrie three under through seven.
There was then a large group of players at seven under, including England's Graeme Storm and Finn Mikko Korhonen, who were both battling for a good week to secure their playing privileges for next season.
The man right on the bubble is Eddie Pepperell and he was one over for the day at six under alongside Oliver Fisher, Scott Jamieson and Jason Scrivener, who were all also in need of a good week.
