World number two Vijay Singh moved into position to challenge at the Open as a host of players battled to keep Tiger Woods in their sights at St Andrews.
Singh, who started the second round on three under, had three birdies in a flawless 69 to move to six under.
He was joined by South Africa's Trevor Immelman, Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal and Australians Robert Allenby and Peter Lonard, five shots behind Woods.
Olazabal's compatriot Sergio Garcia is a shot further back after shooting 69.
Ernie Els (67) reached three under, the same score as fellow South African Retief Goosen (73) and US Open champion Michael Campbell (72).
Singh started with a birdie at the first but had to wait until the ninth for his next as a string of birdie putts failed to drop.
The world number two did claim another birdie at 14, but his day was summed up at the last when he missed a seven-foot birdie putt.
 |  I got off to a good start but there were still a lot of mistakes |
"I left a lot of shots out there," he said. "I am kind of disappointed but I am happy with my position. "I had chance on every hole until the ninth, I just could not get the right pace on the greens."
Immelman recovered from two bogeys in his first four holes for a 70.
Lonard picked up two shots in the last four holes, sandwiching a bogey at the Road Hole in-between three birdies to also shoot 70.
The late-finishing Allenby had a chance to challenge second-placed Colin Montgomerie, but he finished his round with four pars for a 68, one shot behind the Scot.
Olazabal ended his round with a flourish, sinking a long putt for an eagle two which earned the jubilant Spaniard a high five from Woods.
Garcia produced one of the shots of the day on the 18th when he smashed a stunning drive 357 yards on to the centre of the green.
He missed the 15-foot eagle putt but the birdie - his third on his way home - helped him card a three-under 69. However, the Ryder Cup star was not totally happy with his round, saying: "It could have been better. I didn't make many putts."
Els, who started the day eight stokes adrift on two over, had a blistering start with six birdies in his first 10 holes.
But the 35-year-old bogeyed the 11th and 13th before getting back on track with birdies at 14 and 18 for a four-under 67.
Els said: "I got off to a good start but there were still a lot of mistakes.
"But I have to be happy after the 74 I got on the opening day. I feel that the ball is coming off the blade of the club quite well and I just have to be patient."
Australia's Mark Hensby, who was in second place overnight after a superb five-under 65, slumped to a five-over 77 to reach the halfway stage on level par.
MMIX
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