Ernie Els returned to the level of a mere golfing mortal, shooting a six-under par 66 in the second round of the Heineken Masters at Royal Melbourne.

Coming on top of the 60 shots he took in Thursday's first round, Friday's stroll around one of the best and most difficult golf courses in the world left Els seven clear of Victoria's Richard Green.

Els 18-under par 36-hole score is a record for an Australian or European Tour event.

"That was a good day's work, I thought," Els said.

For the 34-year-old South African, the toughest part of the round was to rid his mind of the previous day's heroics.

He said he had succeeded, although a birdie at the first hole he played on Friday, the 10th, undoubtedly prompted some reminiscing.

The steady roll through his first nine produced only one more birdie, ironically at the 15th, the hole that "ruined" his round on Thursday.

In at least one way, Friday's stroll around Royal Melbourne may have been an improvement on Thursday's when he missed only one of the 18 greens.

On Friday he missed none, reaching the 12 par fours and the three par fives in two shots and finding the green off the tee at each of the par threes.

With the pins in tougher positions on Friday, Els said he played more conservatively.

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