Danny Willett picked up three shots in nine holes to move within one of the lead early on day two of the UBS Hong Kong Open.
Rafa Cabrera Bello held the overnight lead at six under after an opening 64 and while nobody could overtake him early on Friday morning, Willett, Nino Bertasio and Peter Uihlein all made early birdies to sit just one shot back.
The Masters Tournament champion opened his second round at Hong Kong Golf Club with a bogey on the 11th but a hat-trick of birdies followed from the 12th and when he rolled in a six-footer on the 17th, he was within striking distance.
American Uihlein is showing glimpses of his best form after a lay-off with a wrist injury and he jumped into a share of the lead with birdies on the 11th and 13th. Back-to-back bogeys on the 18th and first stalled his progress but another gain on the third moved him to five under through 13 holes.
Bertasio made birdies on the third and fourth and while the Italian dropped a shot on the fifth, he picked it back up on the eighth and was also five under with eight holes to play.
Qualifying School winner Nathan Kimsey had three birdies and two bogeys in his first 14 holes to sit at four under alongside Spaniard Carlos Pigem, Irishman Paul Dunne, Swede Jens Fahrbring and Frenchman Benjamin Hebert.
Dunne was two under for his round through 13 holes while Pigem picked up two shots in his first 11 and Fahrbring - who is only in the field after Mikko Ilonen withdrew through illness on Thursday - had two birdies and a bogey in eight holes.
Hebert was level par through seven holes.