Lee Westwood continued his recent brilliant form to take a share of the lead midway through the third round of the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
The Englishman claimed a first European Tour win in four years at last week's Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player and seven birdies in 16 holes on Saturday moved him to 12 under as he looks for a second consecutive Rolex Series triumph.
Countrymen Matt Wallace and Danny Willett, and Spaniard Adrian Otaegui were also at 12 under, a shot clear of Dean Burmester, Patrick Reed and Jordan Smith.
Tom Lewis and Rory McIlroy were then at ten under at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Tommy Fleetwood needs a win this week to have a chance of retaining his Race to Dubai title but he was one over for his round and five off the lead.
A top five will see Francesco Molinari take the season-long crown and he was five under after a 70.
Full of confidence after last week's stunning victory in South Africa, Westwood got off to a flying start.
He missed the green on the first but pulled out the putter and holed a long left-to-righter, before holing from six and four feet on the next two for three opening birdies.
An approach to 12 feet on the fifth then had him at nine under where he was joined by Burmester, who birdied the first.
Burmester holed a 14-footer on the second, with playing partner Reed also making the most of the par five, but the leading groups had fast starts of their own.
Otaegui holed a six-footer on the first to join the lead but in the group behind, Wallace also made his birdie from 15 feet.
Smith had ten feet for eagle on the second and took his birdie but he was soon two back as Wallace got down in two from 35 feet.
McIlroy made remarkable par saves on the third and fourth but registered his first birdie of the day from 18 feet on the fifth and then holed an excellent putt from the fringe on the next.
An excellent bunker shot then set up a third consecutive birdie for Wallace and he led by three.
Westwood had good looks at birdie at the sixth, seventh and eighth and eventually made another one count at the 11th to get to ten under.
Willett broke a four-par start with a six-footer on the fifth and he was joined at 11 under by Westwood who put his tee-shot on the par-three 13th to tap-in range.
A 25-footer from Otaegui moved him into solo second but he soon had company as Westwood took advantage of the 14th and Willett holed a 12-footer on the seventh.
Smith had gone bogey-birdie on the sixth and seventh before another birdie on the eighth made it a four-way tie for second.
That was soon a five-way tie for the lead when Wallace found sand off the eighth tee and then three-putted to slip back to 12 under.
Smith gave his gain straight back on the ninth and dropped into second alongside Burmester and Reed.
The South African had bogeyed the sixth but bounced back with gains on the seventh and ninth, while the American had dropped a shot on the fourth before birdieing the seventh and 11th.
Lewis joined McIlroy at ten under with gains on the second, ninth, tenth and 14th.
Kiradech Aphibarbarnrat, Sergio Garcia and Shubhankar Sharma were three shots off the lead.
