Spain's Rafa Cabrera-Bello continued his excellent desert form to take a handy two-shot cushion after the second round of the Qatar Masters on Thursday.
The 29-year-old, who finished tied fourth at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and had won the 2012 Dubai Desert Classic, carded a fluent 65 for a 13-under 131 total at the Doha Golf Club.
In the process he overtook overnight leader George Coetzee who recorded a second round 69 for an 11-under 133 to occupy sole second spot, while Englishmen Steve Webster and Mathew Baldwin were a further shot behind along with rising Swedish star Johan Carlsson on 134.
Coetzee had retained his one-shot advantage after finishing his round in the morning, but Cabrera-Bello stormed up the leaderboard in the afternoon with a brilliant show over the back nine during which he picked up five strokes.
The Spaniard finished his round in style by draining a putt from 10 feet on the 18th hole, and but for a par on the 17th hole could have had a string of five successive birdies beginning on the 14th.
Coetzee, the runner-up in Qatar last year, was not complaining despite dropping four shots, which included a double-bogey six on the 474-yard 11th hole, his second.
"Just told myself, make some putts, and luckily I did. Yeah, I felt quite good. There were some bogeys out there but definitely some birdies, too, said Coetzee.
American John Daly, meanwhile, rolled back the years with a calm 69 to go with his first round 67 and was tied for 10th in a bunch of six players with 136.
Without a title for the past 10 years, the colourful American eschewed his trademark flamboyance and was pretty pleased with his bogey-free round.
"This isn't an easy golf course. It's in great shape but it's a tough golf course. The fairways are not the easiest to hit, and you know, you miss it a little too far right and left, no telling what it can happen," said the two-time major winner.
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