Matt Fitzpatrick is looking forward to a weekend battle with Patrick Reed after moving within two shots of the halfway lead at the DP World Tour Championship.
The Englishman carded a second successive 68 at Jumeriah Golf Estates to head into the weekend on eight under and within two strokes of Reed, who is looking to become the first American winner on the Race to Dubai.
Fitzpatrick briefly held a share of the lead until he bogeyed the 14th and 16th and nearly found water off the 17th tee, only to hole an unlikely long-range birdie and bolster his hopes of winning the European Tour's season finale for a second time.
"It's a golf course I've played well around before, and I'm really, really looking forward to the weekend," Fitzpatrick said. "It made me laugh, I was thinking me and Patrick [Reed] were one of the earlier groups last year, bringing up the rear, so it's nice to have the opposite this year.
"I've been in the position before to win around here. Obviously I know what it takes, but at the same time it's four years ago now. Things change, my game changes, different swing thoughts.
"Honestly after the first two days, I don't want to jinx myself, touch wood here, but I definitely feel like my swing was way better these first two days than it was the year I won. That's the way golf is, it happens like that. I've won when I've played poorly and I've not won when I've played brilliant."
Fitzpatrick sits in second ahead of Laurie Canter - who birdied six of his opening seven holes - and Tyrrell Hatton, who posted a bogey-free 68 to get within three of the lead.
"I think the score is quite generous for how I played," Hatton said. "I didn't feel that comfortable out there. On the course I was kind of tinkering and trying to find something. Obviously happy to go bogey-free and in a decent position going into the weekend."
2017 Race to Dubai champion Tommy Fleetwood, one of four players who can guarantee they end the season as European No 1 with a victory, is also in contention after back-to-back 69s lifted him into tied-fifth.
"Experience is just something that everybody -- you can't buy, you can't teach, you have to have been there," Fleetwood said. "I've been there and lucky enough, again, I've made it this far in the season.
"We've got two days left and I'm still in with a chance to win the whole thing, which is something to be very happy about, and hopefully I can be here tomorrow night with one more day left still with a chance."
Watch the DP World Tour Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports? Live coverage continues on Saturday from 7am on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event.