Ernie Els eagled the par four 17th and moved into the outright lead with a scintillating 65 on the second day of the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
The South African's magnificent approach shot on the penultimate hole buried itself inside the cup without bouncing.
The eagle, the first in the tournament, was preceded by a sensational shot which gave Els a birdie on the 16th. Only a bogey on the 13th ruined what would otherwise have been a flawless round for the hometown favourite who goes into tomorrow on nine under - one stroke better than Chris DiMarco, the joint overnight leader with Retief Goosen.
Els singled out his caddy Ricci Roberts for the good luck he had with his approach on the 17th.
"It's a first for me, I've never played those two holes in four shots before," he said. "The approach on 17 with my nine-iron was probably the shot of the year for me. I brought it in from 153 metres and it just went in.
"Ricci was all over that shot and he was jumping up and down and I think the ball listened to Ricci."
Els started the day two shots behind the pair Goosen and DiMarco.
Goosen found the going tough and had to settle for a hard-worked 72, leaving him on four under for the event alongside American Jim Furyk.
Next best is Darren Clarke, who is on five under - four shots adrift of the South African after shooting 67.
Clarke shrugged off the up and down round he had yesterday.
"Anytime you shoot 67 it is going to be a good round," Clarke said. "The course is very tough this week. It's difficult to determine the speed on the greens and it makes it that little bit tougher. So a 67 is always good, I'm very pleased with it."
Robert Allenby and three-time winner Nick Price are three under, while Michael Campbell, Padraig Harrington and Bob Estes are two under.
135- Ernie Els (Rsa) 70-65
136- Chris Di Marco (USA) 68-68
139- Darren Clarke72-67
140- Jim Furyk (USA) 69-71, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 68-72
141- Nick Price (Zim) 71-70, Robert Allenby (Aus) 70-71
142- Bob Estes (USA) 73-69, Padraig Harrington72-70, Michael Campbell (Nzl) 71-71
143- Colin Montgomerie (Sco) 74-69, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 70-73