Russell Knox fired a brilliant 63 to move into contention at the midway stage of the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.
The Scot has won two PGA Tour titles in the last 12 months but was left disappointed as he failed to earn a pick from captain Darren Clarke for the European Ryder Cup team which was defeated at Hazeltine National.
A win this week would see him get his 2017 campaign off to an excellent start but he will have to overturn a three-shot deficit and get past defending champion Justin Thomas over the weekend.
After an opening 63, Knox started his second round on the 10th and made two opening birdies before recording four in a row from the 14th to turn in 30.
More birdies followed on the first, third and fifth to leave Knox at 11 under, three shots behind Thomas.
"I thought I could shoot maybe five under, six under would be a great score and then I just started making putts after putts," he told www.pgatour.com. "Got on a nice little roll there and very pleased with my score."
American Thomas is defending a title for the first time in his career and he was bogey-free in following his opening 64 with a 66 to get to 14 under.
"I really try not to think a lot about the fact that I won last year," he said. "I'm really just trying to focus on each and every shot that I'm hitting.
"I drove the ball well and had it in the fairways a lot and had a lot of birdie opportunities. There's definitely a couple of shots I'd like to have back but I mean, going bogey-free and six under is always good."
India's Anirban Lahiri was two shots behind Thomas after shooting a second consecutive round of 66, while American James Hahn and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama were alongside Knox at 11 under.
Source: PA
