Padraig Harrington, until last Friday uncertain whether to play in the Turespana Masters in Madrid, takes a one-stroke lead into today's third round.
A superb 64 for a halfway total of 131, 11-under-par, helped to remove any doubt in the 29-year-old Dubliner's mind about whether he made the right decision to return to the Club de Campo course where he won his first European tour title at the 1996 Spanish Open.
"I've played the last four weeks and I should not really play five in a row," said Harrington, who all summer long has been receiving regular treatment from a chiropractor for neck and shoulder trouble.
"I certainly intended not to, but, because it was the venue I won on, I decided to make an exception. So far it's been a good idea."
Playing partner Darren Clarke, needing to win on Sunday to take back top spot from Lee Westwood on the European Order of Merit, was left five adrift as Harrington followed a back-nine 30 with a 15-foot eagle putt on the long fourth.
He also shot a second-round 64 four years ago before going on to win by four strokes in what was only the 10th tour event of his career. But while happy to remember that, Harrington does not want reminding that the last time he had a 64 was in the third round of the Benson and Hedges International at The Belfry in May.
That gave him a five-shot lead and he was all set for the £166,660 first prize until it was discovered he had absent-mindedly not signed his first-round scorecard. He was disqualified and has not won since.
The man hard on his heels this weekend is Miguel Angel Jimenez. Jimenez had eight birdies, but also three bogeys for his second successive 66 - after witnessing something he had never seen before.
The Spaniard was amazed when his playing partner Ian Woosnam produced first a long putter, then a short one as well from the same bag and used both. It did Woosnam no good. After an opening 76 he dropped further back to seven over before quitting after nine holes with a bad back.
Clarke, joint third after his first day 66, managed only 70 to drop to 10th place, but his disappointment was nothing compared to that of Russell Claydon, Paul Eales and Daren Lee.
Winner of the BMW International two years ago, Claydon has slumped to 132nd on this season's money list and needs at least another £15,000 to avoid going back to the tour qualifying school for the first time since he turned professional in 1989.
The Cambridge golfer had his sights on surviving the halfway cut until he double-bogeyed the 16th and three-putted the last. Now his only hope is a top seven or even top six finish in next week's Italian Open.
Eales and Lee currently lie 116th and 117th and cannot afford to slip beyond 120th spot. They missed the cut as well and will spend the weekend waiting anxiously to see how many players go past them.
Darren Clarke has withdrawn from next week's Italian Open in Sardinia in order to try to keep himself fresh for the final two events in the race to be European number one this season.
