Dan Erickson birdied the last to take the outright lead after two rounds of the weather-affected Porsche Singapore Classic.
The American was among the late starters on day two, which took place on Saturday after the tournament was reduced to 54 holes following Thursday’s washout, as he carded a brilliant 64 to reach the summit at Laguna National Golf Resort Club.
Erickson rolled in nine birdies and one dropped shot to catapult himself one ahead of a log-jammed leaderboard, where 25 players are within four shots of his 11-under-par advantage.
Tom McKibbin, who was the sole leader at 11 under before a bogey at the 9th – his last hole – saw him drop back, Adrien Saddier, Matthew Jordan, Fabrizio Zanotti and Richard Mansell are all locked at 10 under with a fascinating 18 holes remaining.
English duo Jordan Smith and Marcus Armitage and Spaniard Manuel Elvira round off the top 10 at nine under.
South Africans Dylan Frittelli and Brandon Stone shared 10th position on eight under with three other players after rounds of 67 and 68 respectively.
“It was a great round out there. It was a combination of everything, some good breaks, good shots and good putting all around,” Erickson said.
“The memory of calling my parents a few months ago after getting my scorecard actually passed my mind on the course.
“You try not to think about it, but you just do and I was like, if you would have told me in October that I was going to be near the lead in the Porsche Singapore Classic and going to the last round, I would have thought you guys were on drugs or something.”
The 26-year-old graduated from Q-School in November to earn his DP World Tour, but had only made the cut on one of his three starts so far this season.
After a three-under 69 on Friday, Erickson soon moved to six under after birdieing each of his first three holes in round two.
He followed that up with another at the 5th before bogeying the 7th for the second day in a row to remain at six under.
The world No 1,370 hit back immediately at the 8th to get back on the birdie trail, but he had to wait until the 13th where he climbed up to eight under.
Another followed at the 14th and when he holed out a stunning long putt at the 16th, he joined the clubhouse leaders at 10 under.
However, Erickson moved ahead on his own as he showed nerves of steel to roll in his 9th birdie to record the joint-lowest round of the day and move one clear.
Englishman Jordan briefly inflated the lead to 12 under after five birdies on his 13 holes, but bogeys at the 14th and 16th saw him set the clubhouse target at 10 under.
He was swiftly joined by Frenchman Saddier, who mixed six birdies and two dropped shots in his 68 as the pair took advantage of the calmer early conditions.
Northern Irishman McKibbin looked set to lead on his own after he carded two eagles and four birdies, however, he dropped his only shot at the nine to make it a three-way tie at the top.
Zanotti made a sensational start to his second round, starting with five successive birdies to fly up the leaderboard before adding gains at the 8th and 15th to register a flawless 65.
Mansell was also blemish-free in his 66 as he rolled in an eagle and four birdies on Saturday.
Amateur Brayden Lee, the only Singaporean in the field, needed a birdie at the last to reach the final round, but had to settle for par as he missed the cut.
– Edited report from DP World Tour website
Photo: DP World Tour
