Ernie Els holds a three-hole lead over Thomas Bjorn at the halfway stage of the HSBC World Match Play final at Wentworth today.
Seeking the £1 million first prize and a record-equalling fifth title, Els took four of the first eight holes, two with birdies and two with pars.
Els turned in a three-under 32 to Bjorn's one-over 36, but then slackened off. He missed a four-foot birdie putt to lose the 12th and made a mess of the 14th and 15th to be only one-up.
Bjorn, though, failed to take full advantage. He went into a bunker at the 16th and failed to get up and down, then could not match Els's chip-and-putt birdie on the 571-yard next.
Bunkered on the last, Els hit a low runner onto the green with a four-iron and two-putted to halve the hole in birdie fours, Bjorn this time chipping to four feet and making the putt.
"I was going the other way, so three-up is not too bad," said Els. "I caught that four-iron a little skinny and didn't mean to hit it that low. It cleared the lip by a nose.
"I could have really taken control, but 14 and 15 were the worst two holes I've played."
The two will play the remaining 18 holes this afternoon.