Open champion Ernie Els carded a second-round 67 to to move to the top of the leaderboard in the Caltex Masters in Singapore where Ireland's Gary Murphy is challenging strongly. Els fired an eagle and four birdies at Laguna National for an eight-under-par halfway total and remains firmly on course for a fourth-consecutive victory.
The South African enjoyed a one-shot lead over defending champion Arjun Atwal of India, Thai-based Scot Simon Yates and India's Jeev Milkha Singh, with Gary Murphy another shot adrift.
Murphy finished sixth at the qualifying school to regain the card he lost at the end of 2000 and has already made strides to ensure he retains it for next year with finishes of eighth and 15th in the two events in South Africa.
"I hit a one-iron for my second shot on the second and I thought it was in the bunker," said the 30-year-old from Kilkenny. "But it wasn't there and obviously went into the bank and plugged and I had to go back and hit another one-iron."
"An eagle on the 11th (where he hit a 3-wood from 262 yards to four feet) really got the round going and I'm only two behind the super hero. They couldn't beat Ernie in the United States so it's going to be tough here. It's really hot here. On some parts of the course you think you're going to melt."
Ireland's only other competitor in the event, Peter Lawrie, is unlikely to make the cut after a 75 today left him with a three-over total of 147.
Filed by Johnny Proby
