Matt Wallace carded an excellent bogey-free 65 to take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
The Englishman is looking for a fourth European Tour title of the season and a first Rolex Series victory but he had an elite chasing pack behind him at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Countryman Danny Willett fired a 67 to sit in second at ten under alongside first-round leaders Adrian Otaegui and Jordan Smith, with reigning Masters Champion Patrick Reed a further shot back after a bogey-free 66.
In the battle to be crowned Europe's Number One, Tommy Fleetwood needs a win this week to have a chance of successfully defending his Race to Dubai title and he was at eight under after a 67.
The Englishman also needs Francesco Molinari to finish outside of the top five, with a 73 leaving the Open Champion eight shots off the lead.
South African Dean Burmester matched Wallace's 65 to sit at eight under alongside Fleetwood, two-time winner of this event Rory McIlroy and Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
Alexander Björk was the third man to match the lowest round of the week on Friday, and his 65 left him alongside fellow Swede Henrik Stenson and defending champion Jon Rahm four shots off the lead.
A victory on Sunday would make Wallace the 14th player to win four times or more in a European Tour season and the first since Alex Noren in 2016.
“That's up there with one of the best this year,” he said. “I'm playing with freedom now and trying to place as high as I possibly can come the back nine holes on Sunday and then that's when I normally will try and kick in and want to win a tournament, depending on where I am.
“I've been in this situation before, just not in this sort of tournament. The best players are out there in the world and I just want to compete and see where my game is at against them."
Wallace holed a long putt on the first and took advantage of the second to get alongside the overnight leaders but countryman Smith hit back with a birdie of his own on the par-five.
A four-footer from Wallace on the fifth moved him to seven under and he was back into a share of the lead with a birdie on the par-five seventh.
Otaegui had started the day with a bogey but the Spaniard would not be left behind, making birdies on the fourth, sixth and seventh to also get to eight under.
England's Willett was another player to start with a dropped shot but he made four birdies in a row from the sixth - putting approaches to six feet on the eighth and ninth - to join a six-way tie for the lead.
Wallace broke out of the group with a 25-footer on the 11th but Smith was soon to join him as he responded brilliantly to a bogey on the sixth.
He hit an excellent approach to the eighth and left himself tap-ins at the ninth and tenth before Wallace spun his approach close at the 13th to get into double-figures.
Smith hit back on the 12th but Wallace got up and down for birdie on the par-five 14th before Smith bogeyed the 15th but picked the shot straight back up on the next.
Willett bogeyed the tenth but made gains on the 12th, 14th and last, while Otaegui holed an 18-footer on the 11th and also took advantage of the 14th.
American Reed sandwiched birdies on the second and last with four in a row from the eighth, his approaches leaving him less than six feet on the ninth, tenth and 11th.
Fleetwood stayed bogey-free for the week as he holed a long putt on the first and some excellent iron play brought further gains on the eighth, tenth, 11th and 15th.
Burmester made seven birdies in his bogey-free effort, while Aphibarnrat came home in 31 in his 66.
Northern Irishman McIlroy made two bogeys and seven birdies in a chance-laden 67 – the highlight of which was a near-ace on the par-three sixth.
Björk holed a monster putt for eagle to conclude his round, two-time winner here Stenson carded a 66 with eight birdies and two bogeys, and Spaniard Rahm was level par after 15 holes but birdied the 16th and 18th in a 70.
Italian Molinari was one under after 12 holes but bogeyed the 13th, 15th and 16th.
