Tapio Pulkkanen took no time adjusting to life on the European Tour as he fired a second-round 64 to open up a one-shot lead at the Joburg Open.
The Finn claimed his Tour card by winning last season's Road to Oman and while he missed the cut at the UBS Hong Kong Open, he has truly found his feet at Randpark Golf Club.
The 27 year old's 64 on the Firethorn Course moved him to 14 under and gave him a slender advantage over Shubhankar Sharma.
Sharma fired a sparkling 61 on the Bushwillow Course to sit a shot ahead of Finn Mikko Korhonen and local favourite Erik van Rooyen.
The top three players this week who are not already exempt will earn a place at the Open Championship, with the only exempt player in Dylan Frittelli back at four under.
Pulkkanen had finished his first round over the Bushwillow Course with two birdies and he carried that momentum onto the Firethorn, starting with six in a row to turn in 30 and get to 12 under.
He broke a run of four pars with a 15-foot putt on the 11th and got on the par five 12th in two to make another birdie before saving par on the next after putting his tee-shot behind a sapling.
Six closing pars then kept him bogey-free for the week.
"I'm really happy with my game," said Pulkkanen. "I've been driving the ball really well, especially today, it's a fantastic feeling.
It's a fantastic feeling - Tapio Pulkkanen
"It was a good start to my round with six birdies in a row. The putter has been really hot, I practised my aiming a little before the tournament and it's been much better this week.
"I tried to force my last putt yesterday to catch Erik, I was one behind him. We had good battles last season. I beat him in Kazakhstan but he beat me in China. He's a fun guy.
"Leading a European Tour event so early on in my season sounds more magnificent than it really is. It's a similar feeling to the Challenge Tour actually, so I'm comfortable."
Sharma is playing just his tenth European Tour event but has now made nine cuts and enjoyed a top ten in Hong Kong two weeks ago.
He made birdies on the first, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, tenth, 12th, 13th, 15th and 17th to post the first sub-62 round since Ross Fisher broke the course record at the Old Course at St Andrews at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Van Rooyen - who finished third on last season's Challenge Tour - made a fast start with four birdies in a row but he bogeyed the sixth to sit at ten under at the turn. He made another gain at the 13th but Pulkkanen's lead was briefly three shots before Van Rooyen holed from the fringe on the 16th.
Korhonen made six consecutive birdies from the tenth on the Firethorn on Thursday and he came to life on the back nine again on the Bushwillow, adding to a birdie on the first with gains on the tenth, 11th, 12th, 14th and 16th.
Challenge Tour graduate Steven Brown fired a bogey-free 65 on the Firethorn Course to sit at ten under alongside fellow Englishman Daniel Brooks and Dane Joachim B Hansen, who both shot rounds of 67.
English duo Charlie Ford and James Morrison along with Frenchman Adrien Saddier completed the top ten at nine under, with all players taking on the Firethorn Course on Saturday and Sunday.
Play was suspended at 1724 due to a storm, with 19 players returning at 0730 on Saturday to complete their second rounds and round three being played as a two-tee U-draw from 0900.
