Friday 22 April 2016 12:20, UK
Alexander Levy fired a bogey-free 66 to hold a share of the lead and set the pace for the second week running after the opening round of the Shenzhen International.
The Frenchman complemented four birdies with an eagle to move top of the leaderboard at Genzon Golf Club, only to see his round matched late in the day by Soomin Lee.
Brandon Stone will resume one shot off the pace with one hole to play after a weather-affected day saw play suspended due to darkness, with Paul Dunne part of the group a further stroke back.
Levy, who held a one-shot advantage after the first round at Valderrama last week, got off to a fast start by following gains at the 10th and 13th with an eagle at the par-five 17th.
Back-to-back birdies around the turn moved Levy to six under and put his own course record of 62 under threat, only for the 25-year-old to post eight consecutive pars along the closing stretch.
"It's always nice to shoot under par," Levy told European Tour Radio. "I have some very good memories here and it's nice to play this course where you had your first win.
"I played good last week, a few bad rounds with the wind but I feel my game is in good shape and I played solid today like the last round in Valderrama.
"I gained some confidence the last few weeks and it's nice to play a golf course you like. I know the way you need to play well here and it was a perfect day for me."
Lee shot a front-nine 33 and added successive birdies from the 13th, before matching Levy's blemish-free day with a birdie-two at the short 16th.
Eduardo De La Riva carded five birdies and one bogey to join Dunne, Joost Luiten, Raphael Jacquelin and Gary Stal on four under, with Tommy Fleetwood and Scotland's Richie Ramsay among a group of players a shot further back.
Fleetwood, who narrowly missed out on reaching a play-off in last year's event, posted three birdies in a five-hole stretch on his way to a fourth consecutive round of 69 at Genzon.
Ramsay was challenging for the lead at five under par after 13 holes before a hat-trick of bogeys from the 14th, while China's Guo-wu Zhou is three off the pace with five holes to play after carding two eagles during his front nine.
Watch the Shenzhen International throughout the week live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.
