A smooth-putting Tiger Woods fired a five-under-par 65 to take a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in Japan on Friday.
The world number one, chasing a third straight title in Miyazaki, finished on eight-under par with Ireland's Padraig Harrington his closest challenger after a solid 66.
India's Shiv Kapur continued his fine performance to card an even par 70 and was placed tied 18th in the star-studded field.
Kapur, playing in Japan only for the second time, seemed to have adjusted well and brought home a steady round for a total of even par 140 for 36 holes.
The Indian once again bogeyed the second hole but this time he made up for that on the par-5 fourth. A series of seven pars through the turn was followed by another bogey on 12th, but back-to-back birdies on 13th and 14th brought him under par for the first time in the day.
A bogey on 15th made him level par again, which is where he stayed till the end. He needed 28 putts for the day and found 61 per cent greens in regulation.
Ian Poulter produced a 64 to claim sole possession of third on six under, although fellow Englishman Justin Rose's 63 was the best round of the day at the island resort.
Woods began the day two behind Japan's Shingo Katayama after an opening 67 but, having clawed back an early shot, Woods seized the outright lead with a superb eagle at the 557-yard fourth.
After reaching the front edge of the green in two, Woods expertly holed a chip-and-run shot from 25 feet with a six-iron, celebrating with a fist pump and a cry of "Come on."
A hot putter helped Woods collect further birdies on the eighth, 11th and 13th during a stretch in which he was beginning to look unstoppable.
However, he dropped a shot at the 16th after an errant tee shot found the trees while Harrington's birdie on the final hole gave him a brief share of the lead.
WET WEEKEND
But Woods immediately hit back, the 12-times major winner sinking a six-foot birdie putt on the 18th to reclaim the lead going into a weekend forecast to be wet and windy.
"I'm very happy to shoot 65. To have that be the lead is awfully nice," Woods told reporters. "Some of the guys really went low today. 'Rosie' shot 63.
"Paddy (Harrington) is playing well. It's going to be a very interesting weekend, especially with the weather coming in. It is supposed to be rainy and cool and breezy so it's going to be a tough weekend for all of us."
Woods's remarkable run of six successive victories this season was ended by South Korean Yang Yong-eun at the Champions Tournament in Shanghai last week.
But Woods has looked more comfortable in Japan and sank several testing putts again in Friday's round.
"Last week I putted well spurts but this week I've putted well consistently, which has been nice," he said. "It's always nice to come back to golf course that you've had success on.
"I just need to clean up a little bit and I should be alright."
Harrington's challenge was helped by three birdies on the last six holes and the 2006 European Order of Merit winner was looking forward to going toe-to-toe with Woods this weekend.
"Seven under par is very good, 36 holes to go," Harrington told Reuters.
"Keep plodding along and see what happens. The more you play with Tiger, the easier it gets. If you're playing with him every week it means you're playing good golf."
Overnight leader Katayama fell away slightly after an even-par 70, leaving him as the highest-placed Japanese in fourth at five under par. Rose ended the day in fifth on four under.
