Peter Hanson grabbed the halfway lead but all eyes were all on Rory McIlroy as the world No.1 sounded a warning to his rivals with a second round 7-under-par 65 at the BMW Masters.
Defending champion McIlroy notched seven birdies to be at 12-under for the tournament, two strokes behind Ryder Cup teammate Hanson, the Swede shooting an 8-under 64 to move to 14 under.
Hanson’s countryman Robert Karlsson carded a 64 to lie third, five strokes off the pace at Lake Malaren.
Another stroke back was a group of four including Ireland’s Shane Lowry (64), Justin Rose (68), Sweden’s Alexander Noren (68), and first-round leader Welshman Jamie Donaldson (74).
McIlroy’s fifth round of 65 this season was capped by three birdies in succession from the 13th hole.
“When I did need to make a par here or there, I was able to save those, and I’m in a great position going into the weekend,” McIlroy said.
McIlroy hasn’t won a regular European Tour event since last year’s Hong Kong Open.
Of his four wins this year, all in America, only the US PGA Championship has counted toward the European Tour money list. Yet McIlroy leads the list, and was four shots clear of Rose, his nearest rival in the Race to Dubai.
“It looks quite routine at the moment,” McIlroy said.
“The more you put yourself in this position, the more comfortable you become with it. I like the fact that most weeks I tee it up, I can get myself in contention.”
However, Hanson also said he was relaxed about his form and game.
Winning his fifth tour title at the KLM Open and his second straight Ryder Cup have imbued in him a high comfort level.
“The biggest difference in my career compared to earlier times, is that I am playing better in the bigger events like the majors and the World Golf Championships, that has helped my confidence quite a lot,” Hanson said.
“Also, being a part of the Ryder Cup team, and being high up the world rankings, you feel you maybe belong a bit more competing alongside the best players.”
Karlsson is seeking to end a near two-year winless drought since capturing the season-ending 2010 Dubai World Championship.
