Jim Furyk surged to the top of the leaderboard after firing a second successive 66 on day two of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
The 45 year old, who held a share of second place on the opening day at Firestone Country Club, carded seven birdies and three bogeys as he set the clubhouse target on eight under par on Friday.
Meanwhile Graeme McDowell added a second round of 71 to his opening 66, which was enough to see him remain high on the leaderboard in Akron.
The Northern Irishman carded two bogeys and one birdie on Friday to finish on three under par, along with overnight leader Danny Lee, whose round included four bogeys and two birdies.
The former US Open Champion is pleased to be in a strong position heading into the weekend.
He said: "It was an up and down day.
“On the first nine holes, which was the back nine, I could have shot anything there, anything from 37 to about 42.
“But I managed to hang in there and shoot a really great grinding level par on the back nine, my first nine holes.
“And then my second nine, the front nine, I started to hit it a little better and give myself some chances but I made a couple of silly mistakes. So that's golf.
“I would have taken 71, I think, six or seven holes into the round, and I am happy enough that I am hanging around for the weekend.
“It is always nice to be thereabouts.”
World Number Nine Henrik Stenson shot 69 to join the group on three under, while Justin Rose, Lee Westwood and two-time Major Champion Jordan Spieth are among those one shot further back.
Stenson said: "I am pretty happy with the way I am playing.
"Maybe I felt like I hit it a little bit better yesterday than today but I am still playing nicely.
"It is not an easy golf course even though Jim made it look easy.
"He was leaving everyone behind, at least the morning groups. He played really solid and I played good myself.
"I am quite happy with the progress I made last week before coming into the tournament."
