Just behind the lead pair are Belgium’s Thomas Pieters, David Drysdale of Scotland, Eduardo de la Riva of Spain and Thomas Aiken of South Africa, all on six under par 65.
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Sullivan, who has won twice on the European Tour this season, said: “I got off to a bit of a scrappy start but made a good swing on the seventh and grew in confidence”.
A birdie at his first hole, the 406-yard 10th, set him on his way and he picked up three further shots before the turn with three additional birdies coming over the front nine.
English pair Tommy Fleetwood and Anthony Wall also carded excellent 64s to vault to nine under, while Ryder Cup star Thomas Bjorn (67) and his in-form fellow Dane Soren Kjeldsen (66) are one shot further adrift.
“So hard not to shoot a good a score the way I was hitting it and putting it really”.
Sullivan finished strongly with four birdies down the stretch, including his second in consecutive days at the seventh, where he chipped in from the edge of the green to underline the sharpness of his short game.
“Seven was just ridiculous”, he said.
Throwing a potential spanner into the works for Sullivan is the possibility of bad weather over the weekend.
Pre-tournament favourite Martin Kaymer was three under par after five holes, but eventually had to settle for an opening 70, while Denmark’s Anders Hansen carded a 68 in his last tournament before retiring. “I’m playing a few good golf, so I’d love to go out there and test myself again”.
“I’ve enjoyed my time out here but I have a couple of business ventures going on at the moment and it’s tough to compete at this level and do other things, so I felt now was the right time to move on”. “Obviously, go back and relax tonight and get myself ready for tomorrow”.
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Sullivan, who shared the overnight lead with Nicolas Colsaerts, hit seven birdies in a flawless second round at the Oceanico Victoria course for a 14-under total of 128.
