Lee Westwood posted a five-under-par 67 to move one shot clear at the top of the leaderboard at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
The world number three is 15-under for the tournament, one clear of Scotland's Stephen Gallacher, German Marcel Siem and first round leader Rafael Cabrera-Bello of Spain.
Another superb finish is in prospect with Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and German Martin Kaymer among a group of four players on 13-under, while Thomas Bjorn finds himself another stroke back.
Westwood had ended Friday with three successive birdies and he picked up where he left off as he birdied the opening hole before adding a further two at the third and fourth. A fourth birdie was sandwiched in between his two bogeys but the Englishman picked up shots at the tenth, 12th and 13th holes before coming home with five successive pars.
“I played nicely again. Very solid," Westwood said. “I got off to a very good start, three under after four, rolled the ball well on the greens and hit a lot of good quality iron shots.
“It was a little bit tougher today, with a tad more breeze up and I guess a few tighter flags. But I coped fairly well with that and 67 is probably about the worst it could have been.”
It was a mixed day for McIlroy as he found himself in the water on the seventh. It resulted in the world number two dropping a shot and as he stepped onto the 11th tee he was one-over for the day after taking a second bogey at the tenth.
A topsy-turvy finish saw McIlroy sink three birdies, including at the 18th, and two bogeys as he signed for a level-par 72.