Pablo Larrazábal will take a three-shot lead into the weekend at the Volvo China Open after an excellent 66 on day two at Topwin Golf and Country Club.
The Spaniard has been in a rich vein of form this season, securing four top-15s in nine events, including a tie for 11th at last week's Shenzhen International.
A bogey-free weekend helped him to that position at Genzon Golf Club and he extended his flawless run to 81 holes before dropping a shot on the 17th as he got to 14 under.
South African Dylan Frittelli had earlier fired a course-record equalling 63 to get to 11 under and he was joined there by overnight leader Alexander Levy - who had set the record on Thursday and followed up with a 70.
South Korea's Soomin Lee was then a further shot back after a blemish-free 65, with Belgian Thomas Detry and South African George Coetzee at eight under.
It did not take Larrazábal long to catch Frittelli as he birdied the fifth, sixth and eighth, the latter with the help of a beautiful chip, to turn in 33.
The 33 year old then put his tee-shot on the short par four 11th to ten feet to set up an eagle and when he holed putts from off the green on the 12th and 15th, he had a four-shot lead.
A poor chip on the 17th then brought that first bogey in 82 holes before a par on the last left him in the driving seat.
"It’s good to have some confidence coming into the week - I feel like I’m just trying to keep up the same stuff I was working on last week - and so far so good," said Larrazábal.
"I played probably tee to green the best golf of my career over the weekend (in Shenzhen) and, believe it or not, I didn’t hole any putts. I shot 11 under par over the last weekend but I didn’t hole as many putts as I wanted to but it looks like these past two days have been the other way around.
"It’s been a great two days of work, I have been playing good and putting awesome so I am looking forward to the weekend.
"It’s been a long time since I have been leading a golf tournament and I love it, so hopefully another good 36 holes and we will see what happens."
Frittelli missed three of his first four cuts this season but has been a picture of consistency since, achieving a season's best tie for fifth in Shenzhen.
It’s been a long time since I have been leading a golf tournament and I love it -Pablo Larrazábal
The Challenge Tour graduate started his round birdie-eagle from the tenth and then picked up further shots on the 15th, 17th and 18th to turn in 30.
A birdie on the third thanks to an excellent approach handed him a share of the lead and when he picked up his eighth shot of the day on the sixth, he was the first man this week into double figures.
Another birdie on the eighth then extended his lead and set the target for the rest of the field.
Levy birdied the fourth and seventh but dropped shots on the third and fifth as a run of nine pars saw him move backwards as Larrazábal stormed clear.
A birdie-birdie finish thanks to some dialled-in iron play, however, left the Frenchman right in the mix heading into the weekend.
Lee birdied the fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth and when he played an excellent approach shot to the ninth, he turned in 31. He then took advantage of the short 11th and par five 12th before finishing with six straight pars.
Starting on the back nine, Coetzee birdied the 11th for the second day in a row but then gave the shot back on the 12th before picking up shots on the 13th, 15th and 16th to turn in 33. A further birdie on the seventh via a long right-to-lefter meant he had at last caught Levy but a closing bogey saw him sign for a 69.
Detry made four birdies in a row from the fourth and while he dropped a shot on the 13th, a hat-trick of gains then helped him to a 66.
South African pair Dean Burmester and Jaco Van Zyl, Dutchman Joost Luiten, Germany's Bernd Ritthammer, Englishman Graeme Storm, 2010 champion YE Yang and last week's winner Bernd Wiesberger were then at seven under.
