US Open champion Retief Goosen shot himself into a share of the lead at the Johnnie Walker Classic golf tournament on Friday despite the distractions of camera-toting fans.
Goosen said he had been plagued by snap-happy Chinese spectators as he went round the Pine Valley course with Thomas Bjorn and Zhang Lian-Wei.
"It was a long day as we struggled with the spectators and photographers and after nine we managed to get someone who could speak Chinese and managed to tell them to stop using cameras," he said.
"It was kind of frustrating on the first nine, so the mood wasn't all that good during that time."
Goosen was also troubled by unpredictable winds, a day after heavy gusts forced play to be cancelled on Thursday.
"It was a tricky day as the wind was variable today. Sometimes it's blowing into you and sometimes it's blowing down. And then towards the last three holes the wind came from totally a different direction to earlier in the week," he said.
"But I'm happy to be where I am. We have two rounds to go, I'm looking forward to it."
Goosen, who played 36 on holes on Friday after Thursday's wind disruption, was nine under par after rounds of 68 and 67 in the 2.3 million dollar tournament.