Luke Donald eyes No.1 spot on South Carolina

The 33-year-old is currently ranked No.3 but, with current rankings leader Martin Kaymer having a week off and Lee Westwood playing in a tournament worth fewer ranking points in Indonesia, a win would put Donald on top of the standings.

The Englishman had opened with a four-under 67, and he was in imperious form as he racked up five second-round birdies on the front nine. He dropped a shot at the 10th but picked up two more at 11 and 15 to move a stroke clear of first-round leader Garrett Willis on 10 under par.

"I got off to a great start, again, birdieing the first two holes gave me some good momentum," said Donald. "I played that front nine really well. The back nine is a little bit tougher, but, again, I did a lot of good things today, drove it reasonably well.

"Some of my misses were in good places where I could get a good up-and-down. It was a solid day."

Willis, whose decision to continue with his conventional putter instead of switching to a belly putter yielded a seven-under opening-round 65, could not keep up his high standards from the first day as he started the front and back nines with bogeys in a round of 69, but he remains in the mix.

Camilo Villegas was three under on the day as the Colombian moved into a tie for third while Jim Furyk and Masters contender Jason Day were two of the big movers on the day as they also moved to eight under with five-under and six-under rounds respectively.

Ian Poulter is a shot further back after a flawless 66, with Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell at two under following his 69.