American Patrick Reed leads England’s Andy Sullivan by one shot after round two of the Dubai Desert Classic, with Rory McIlroy seven shots off the pace going into the weekend.
LIV golfer Reed carded a second-round 66 to move to the top of the leaderboard at nine under par.
The 35-year-old recorded an eagle three at the 13th, plus four birdies, in a bogey-free round at the Emirates Golf Club on Friday.
The 2018 Masters champion is aiming to improve on the second place he achieved at the tournament three years ago.
Sullivan, 38, fired a 65 for the best round of the day, equalling the score posted by Francesco Molinari, which saw him head the field after the opening day.
The former European Ryder Cup player registered four birdies, three bogeys and an eagle at the 18th to boost his challenge for a fifth DP World Tour success.
McIlroy improved on the disappointing one-over-par 73 he managed on Thursday by shooting a three-under 69 to move to two under.
The five-time major champion will take confidence from the fact that he came from 10 shots behind after the second round to take victory two years ago, one of four previous triumphs at the event.
The Northern Ireland player picked up shots at six holes and dropped strokes at three others during his round on Friday.
“I felt I did pretty well. Conditions got trickier as the day went on when the wind picked up in the back nine,” McIlroy told Sky Sports.
“You have to pick and choose your spots, when to be aggressive and try to take advantage of the par fives.
“I felt I did a pretty good job, hit a lot of good shots today and hit a lot of good putts that didn’t go in.
“It was an improvement on yesterday and I’ve given myself half a chance going into the weekend. Hopefully I can post a low one on Saturday and be right in the mix come Sunday.”
Italians Andrea Pavan and Molinari sit one behind Sullivan, with Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard in fifth place on six under.
Tyrrell Hatton is among a group of five players still well in contention on five under after carding a 69, while Shane Lowry and Tom McKibbin are part of a bunch on three under following rounds of 71 and 70 respectively.
Tommy Fleetwood’s 72 left him one over in a tie for 60th place ahead of the final two rounds.