Els stretches lead in Melbourne

Ernie Els stretched his lead to three with a second-round 69 in the Heineken Classic in Melbourne.

Earlier Greg Norman had set the clubhouse target by adding a 67 to his opening 69.

Then New Zealander Richard Lee broke the course record with a 62, and Mark Pilkington joined Norman on eight under par.

But Els refused to be upstaged.

He is making no promises about turning the event into a one-horse race.

Four birdies in five holes around the turn were an ominous warning that he is happy as a front-runner.

And although he did then three-putt the comparatively easy 17th, back he came with an 18-footer on the last.

Pilkington achieved what Nick Faldo could not by staying right in the thick of the action.

While Faldo, joint third overnight, managed only a 73, the 23-year-old handled the situation much better.

Faldo fell back to four under and among the players who came past him was Lee with a round that left him shocked and stunned.