Asian Open: Only the forecast thunderstorms look capable of stopping Ernie Els claiming a third victory of the year after the world number three took command of the BMW Asian Open.
Els fired eight birdies and an eagle in a near-flawless second-round 62 in Shanghai for a 15-under-par halfway total and four-shot lead.
New Zealand's Eddie Lee, one of seven players sharing the lead after the first round, added a 66 to his opening 67 to lie second on 11 under, with France's Raphael Jacquelin a shot further back after a second consecutive 67.
England's Simon Wakefield, Denmark's Thomas Bjorn and France's Jean Van de Velde are three shots further back on eight under.
Ireland's Peter Lawrie, who shared the overnight lead with Els, fired three birdies in the last four holes for a two-under-par 71 and a seven-under-par 139 total.
However, Paul McGinley and Damien McGrane will play no further part in the weekend after failing to make the cut.
McGinley added a two-under-par 70 but his two-round total of 145 was one outside the cut. McGrane was a shot further back after a 72.
Luke Donald is 10 shots off the pace after a 69, 2008 Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo two under after a 70 and Colin Montgomerie one under after also carding a 70.
Starting from the 10th, Els opened with three pars before a birdie from three feet on the 13th sparked a run of eight birdies in 11 holes.
The South African then holed from 12 feet on the 15th and 30 feet on the 16th and splashed out of a greenside bunker to six feet on the 18th to be out in 32.
Four more birdies followed in his next five holes - the highlight coming with a 40-foot putt on the first - before a four-iron recovery from the trees on the par-five ninth finished within inches of the hole to set up the easiest of eagles.
Although two shots better than the previous course record, the round will not count officially due to the preferred lies in operation this week.
"I felt my game was coming around and I was a bit more confident," said Els
"From where I was in the first round last week, where I was still looking for a swing and the changes were feeling very uncomfortable, I've done a total about-turn.
"I'm a little surprised it has come around this quickly but I'm very happy."
Els is now a red-hot favourite to add to his back-to-back victories in Dubai and Qatar earlier in the season and admitted: "You expect to win but you know you have a lot of work to do.
"I'm in a very good situation right now but I have to go out and play aggressive golf. I hear it is going to rain but this score obviously gives me a lot of confidence."
Bjorn carded seven birdies in a flawless 65 but conceded he and the rest of the field faced a daunting task to overhaul Els over the weekend.
"There is a lot of work to do. When Ernie plays like that he is a difficult man to catch. I need to shoot two 64s I guess, but we will see what happens."
Montgomerie was looking for another good finish in Shanghai to move back into the world's top 50, but almost missed the halfway cut after a poor finish to his round.
After a perfect drive on the 16th his approach to the green came up way short of the flag, pitching into a bank and rolling back down the slope into the water.
That led to a double-bogey six and Montgomerie was lucky not to suffer a carbon copy on the 17th, this time his tee shot to the par three somehow staying dry rather than rolling back into the lake.
He was still faced with an awkward shot from the edge of the lake but pitched to six feet and saved par to remain level par.
That was right on the cut mark but Montgomerie made sure of being around for the weekend with a birdie four on the last, despite another bad drive into a fairway bunker.
