Alex Cejka claimed the clubhouse lead midway through the second round of the Hong Kong Open as the German chases his first title for 11 years.
The 43 year old, who won four European Tour titles between 1995 and 2002, rolled back the years with a three under par 67 in Fanling.
At five under par Cejka led by one in the clubhouse from the quartet of Espen Kofstad, Robert-Jan Derksen, Chris Doak and Angelo Que.
“Overall I’m pleased,” said Cejka, who holed a ten footer at the eighth for one of five birdies.
“I hit much better shots. It’s a good feeling. I’ve had a couple of months off now so it’s nice to come back and grind it out.
“I got a late call to this tournament so I wish I had practised a bit more at home, but I guess it’s working what I’m doing right now.
“It’s a long trip but so far it’s worth it. I’ve got to do what I’ve been doing the last two days and if I have two more good rounds I’ll take it.”
Defending champion Miguel Angel Jiménez had put himself in a great position to break his own record as The European Tour’s oldest winner when he raced to six under par for the tournament, but three bogeys in his last six holes meant the Spaniard slipped back to three under.
First round leader David Higgins overcame a difficult start - he fell all the way back to level par after his sparkling opening 64 - with a couple of late birdies to get back to two under.
On the course, Thailand’s Prom Meesawat picked up shots at the first and fourth to move into the outright lead on six under.
That left Welsh Qualifying School graduate Stuart Manley to take up the running on six under with four holes to play.
