SINGAPORE – In his 14th year of professional golf, Andy Sullivan is still driven by the lessons learnt from his days as an amateur.

Once a shelf stacker earning £6 (S$10) an hour at British supermarket chain Asda, where he worked right until he turned professional in 2011, the Englishman’s early days have taught him to enjoy every moment in his career.

This mindset propelled him to the top of the leaderboard at the Porsche Singapore Classic, where he carded a nine-under 63 on March 22 to claim a share of the lead with compatriot Richard Mansell and German Freddy Schott.

The trio sit atop the leaderboard of the DP World Tour with a nine-under 135 total.

World No. 27 Matthieu Pavon (68), the highest-ranked player in the field, was one stroke behind in tied-fourth alongside fellow Frenchman Romain Langasque (67), England’s Sam Bairstow (68) and Paul Waring (69), and Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat (72).

Sullivan, 37, said: “I’m just enjoying every moment while it lasts and hopefully it continues for a little bit longer because once it goes, I’ll be back stacking shelves again.

“It gives you a perspective on life. I’m very humble in the sense that I enjoy life to the fullest and make sure nothing gets me down.

“I just go out there and enjoy it, whether it’s good or bad, I’ll have a smile on my face.”

At Laguna National Golf Resort Club’s Classic Course, Sullivan, who had an even-par 72 in the first round, hit 16 out of 18 greens in regulation.

He required just 26 putts to record the lowest round of the day, with seven birdies and an eagle on the par-five third hole.

It took the four-time DP World Tour winner a while to warm up as he carded two birdies in his outward nine.

But he enjoyed an impressive run from holes No. 1 to 4, firing three birdies and an eagle.

He then completed the flawless scorecard with two more birdies on the sixth and eighth holes. His 63 matched the course record that defending champion Ockie Strydom had set in 2023.

Sullivan said: “It was a weird one today, I felt very slow and a bit sluggish to start with and then went ballistic on the back nine.

“I don’t know what happened. The putter got hot and then hit a lot of good shots, so it was good.

“I felt like I played well yesterday without the score being there but golf being the crazy game it is, it has a way of rewarding you sometimes.”

Schott, who missed the cut at the 2023 Singapore Classic, was glad to be in contention going into the weekend.

The 22-year-old tapped on his experience at last year’s competition to finish a bogey-free second round with three birdies.

He said: “When I came here this year, I had in mind that it was quite a tough course.

“When I got here feeling way better than I felt last year, I thought, well it’s not that difficult if you put yourself in good positions.

“That’s what I executed very well and that’s what makes the course enjoyable for me now.”

While the leading trio were in excellent form, the rest of the field seemed to struggle with the conditions and pin positions on the second day of the US$2.5 million (S$3.4 million) tournament, with the average score increasing from 70.871 to 72.211.

Irishman Shane Lowry, the 2019 British Open champion, sits joint-49th on 142 after registering a 73, while three-time PGA Tour winner Paul Casey (70) is tied-15th at 138.

South African Strydom was right on the cut line of one-under 143 after rounds of 69 and 74.

Singaporeans Nicklaus Chiam (78), Joshua Yap (77) and amateur Irvyn Tan (81) all missed the cut.

Chiam and Yap finished tied-128th on 153, while Tan (160) was 132nd and last.