Tiger Woods shot a three-under round of 69 to finish two shots off the pace after the second day of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
Unknown Dane Thorbjorn Olesen leads the tournament after a second round 67 saw him climb to seven-under for the tournament.
The 22-year-old is one clear of Northern Ireland's Gareth Maybin and young Italian Matteo Mannasero.
Woods is alongside playing partner and overnight leader Rory McIlroy on five-under after the US Open champion shot a level-par 72.
He was involved in a moment of controversy after being penalised for wiping away some sand outside of the putting surface.
"Luke [Donald] said 'I don't think you can do that' and then I was like 'Oh yeah I can't, can I?' It twigged on me straightaway," said McIlroy when questioned on what had happened.
If Woods were to triumph in the United Arab Emirates it would be back-to-back victories for the 14-time major champion after going over two years without a win before his success at the Chevron World Challenge last year.