Paul Lawrie made a flying start to his second round at the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World to move ahead of Peter Hanson.
The Scot pitched to three feet on the opening two holes and birdied them both, while Hanson, who equalled the course record with his 64, had to settle for par figures before bogeying the third.
The former Open Champion then almost holed his tee shot at the fourth to lead by three.
Hanson was joined in second by Rory McIlroy and Englishman Paul Casey, making a real burst after teeing off again at level par.
Casey, who finished third at the Chevron World Challenge in California on Sunday after starting with a 79, eagled the long seventh and by adding five birdies needed two more in the last four holes to break the course record.
Sergio Garcia, playing with McIlroy, also birdied the second to improve to six under and was sharing fifth spot with Spanish compatriot Alvaro Quiros.
In the battle for The Race to Dubai Luke Donald promised a lot more than he delivered for the second round running at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
After coming back from an opening bogey with three birdies in the next four holes - just as he did when The European Tour's season-ending event began - the World Number One could not sustain his charge.
Needing a top-nine finish to guarantee he completes the double of money list titles on both sides of the Atlantic, Donald was one under par and only joint 30th with three holes to play.
The Race to Dubai crown will still be his if McIlroy fails to win the tournament, but there remained a real possibility of that when the 22 year old, third overnight, two-putted the long second for birdie to join Casey and Hanson on seven under.
There were chances for McIlroy to close the gap on the fifth and sixth, but he missed from eight feet both times.
Donald, meanwhile, birdied the 16th, 17th and 18th for a 68 that left him tied for 13th – only four places from where he needed to be come the end of the week.
