DUBAI, UAE — Patrick Reed will take a two-stroke lead into the weekend after a best-of-the-day eight under par 64 in the second round of the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

Reed, who is looking to become the first American to win the Race to Dubai, sits on 10 under par for the tournament, two clear of Matthew Fitzpatrick with fellow Englishmen Tyrrell Hatton and Laurie Canter a shot further back on seven under par.

Reed had begun the day three shots back but stormed up the leaderboard early on with five birdies in his opening eight holes. He picked up another stroke on the tenth before giving one back on the 12th but finished strongly with three birdies in the final four holes for a superb 64.

“I feel great — going out and shooting an eight under par round today and getting myself into double digits by the end of two rounds is great but there’s a lot of golf left,” said Reed. “Yesterday I felt like I did a lot of things pretty well, just the putts weren't really falling - they were kind of burning the edges.”

“Today I tightened it up. I was able to hit the ball a little closer, give myself more opportunities and I was seeing the lines on the greens a little better. The greens are a little softer this year than they have been in the past, so you’re able to attack some of the flags.”

Fitzpatrick posted a second consecutive four under par 68 after bouncing back from bogeys on holes 14 and 16 with a superb birdie on the 17th to sure up a third round grouping with Reed.

“This is a golf course I love,” said Fitzpatrick. “It’s a golf course I’ve played well around before, and I’m really, really looking forward to the weekend. It made me laugh to think that myself and Patrick were one of the earlier groups last year, bringing up the rear, so it’s nice to have the opposite this year.”

Canter flew out of the blocks with four consecutive birdies and added two more on holes six and seven to reach the turn in 30. A double bogey pegged him back on the tenth but he made two more gains on holes 14 and 18 to post a six under par 66.

“The position I find myself in, I feel kind of comfortable with it because I'm just more focusing on what I'm doing and not thinking too much beyond my next shot,” said Canter. “So that’s going to be the mantra for the next couple of days, and if I can keep doing it, I'll be okay.”

Hatton didn’t drop a shot as he put together a four under par 68 but admitted he didn’t feel settled during the round.

“I think my score is quite generous for how I played,” said Hatton, who won the BMW PGA Championship earlier this year. “I didn't feel that comfortable out there. On the course I was kind of tinkering and trying to find something. Obviously I’m happy to go bogey-free and be in a decent position going into the weekend.”

A clutch of four players sit on six under par, including Branden Grace, who finally overcame his jet-lag after playing in Mexico last week, with a six under par 66 to follow a level par opening round. Grace vaulted up 21 places into a share of fifth alongside Tommy Fleetwood, Lee Westwood and Sami Välimäki.

Former winner Danny Willett also made a big leap after following his opening 72 with a 67 to get into a share of ninth place alongside Spain’s Adri Arnaus and Germany’s Martin Kaymer on five under par. Norway’s Viktor Hovland sits just outside the top ten on four under par after a 69, alongside Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre in a share of 12th place. Day one leader Victor Perez carded a two over par 74 to fall into a share of 14th. — SG