England's David Horsey opened up a three-shot lead at the Made in Denmark tournament after shooting a four-under-par second-round 67 in Farso.
The 30-year-old, who led by one overnight, was knocked off the top of the leaderboard by fellow Englishman John Parry before he started play but he hardly looked back after a birdie at the first.
He followed with another birdie at the fourth and an eagle three at the sixth. He did also drop three shots in the first 10 holes but three more birdies on the back nine cancelled them out as he reached the halfway point at 12 under at the Himmerland Golf and Spa Resort.
Parry also carded a 67 and ended the day in a tie for second on nine under alongside Australian Richard Green.
Welshman Bradley Dredge, last year's runner-up, and another Australian, Terry Pilkadaris, were joint-fourth on eight under after shooting 68s.
Dubliner Peter Lawrie continued his fine form in Denmark, carding a two-under 69 to move to seven under where he was joined by Welshman Oliver Farr.
Horsey, who is chasing a fourth European Tour win but has had just one top-10 finish this year, put his charge down the the reinvigorating effects of a recent break.
“It was nice to get away, put the clubs away for a week and just forget about golf. I really enjoyed that,” said Horsey.
“I’ve just been trying to stick to my own strategy and not be distracted by things going on around me and it seems to be working so far.”
Parry made a superb start to his second round and reached 11 under after sinking six birdies in his first 15 holes. He slipped up with bogeys on two of his last three.
Green moved up the leaderboard with a bogey-free 65 that featured six birdies.
Further down the leaderboard, Scotland's former British Open champion Paul Lawrie was on five under with European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke three under.
Clarke was actually in serious danger of missing the cut – made at even par – after four bogeys in his first nine but he recovered dramatically after the turn. Four birdies and an eagle took him to six under before he dropped three shots on his last two to close with a 70.
Simon Thornton also had a 70 for three under, while Waterford's Kevin Phelan was a shot further back after a 69.
Michael Hoey’s pair of 71s was enough to make the weekend on the number, but Damien McGrane’s 73 left him on three over and out of the tournament.
