Retief Goosen of South Africa retained his lead at the halfway stage of the BMW International Open in Munich after shooting a four-under-par 68 on Friday in the second round at the Golfclub Munchen Eichenried.
However, Goosen's 132-stroke total, which was completed before lunch, came under increasing pressure later in the day.
Eventually, he held a one-shot lead over Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen.
"I am very happy with the way I played," Goosen said. "Maybe I didn't hole as many putts as I did in the first round, but I am pretty sure my score will be among the leaders at the end of the day."
The 24-year-old Kjeldsen, winner of last year's Volvo Masters and the Andalucian Open in Spain in March, has risen to No. 37 in recent months but was prevented by an ear infection from playing in the US Open and now wants to make up for lost time.
"I first had flu and then the ear infection which meant I had four weeks off but I am now happy to be playing again and feeling good," said Kjeldsen who shot a seven-under 65 for 133.
"The last tournament I played was the PGA Championship at Wentworth where I finished third and played nicely and it's good to have a lot of confidence."
With tougher pin positions for the second round after the low scoring on Thursday it had been expected that fewer players would break par but the halfway cut fell at 3-under 141.
Kjledsen's 65 was not even the lowest score of the day.
That honour belonged to David Drysdale who matched Goosen's opening round of 8-under 64 for 134.
And the Scotsman was only sharing third place, two strokes behind the leader with England's Nick Dougherty who produced a 7-under 65.
The highlight of Dougherty's round was to produce two eagle threes in the space of four holes that included hitting the flagstick with his six iron approach to the par five sixth hole.
Among the players to miss the cut was John Daly of the US who shot a 2-under 70 for 144 and the recent surprise Irish Open winner Shane Lowry. An amateur when he took that title, Lowry, 22, has now missed three cuts in the professional ranks.
MUNICH AP
