Tommy Fleetwood fired a superb 63 to join American Russell Henley in a share of the lead at 13 under par after the second round of the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
The Englishman made eight birdies, with the only blemish to his scorecard arriving on the 16th when he left his approach well short of the flag after finding a fairway bunker off the tee.
It was an excellent display from Fleetwood, who narrowly missed out on victory at the St Jude Championship and Travelers Championship earlier this season.
The 34-year-old is yet to win a PGA Tour event despite having 44 top-10 finishes.
He joked earlier this week that he would find it “pretty funny” if he were to triumph this weekend to claim the FedExCup and a cheque of $10m (£7.4m) in the season-ending event.
“All I can do is keep learning from the things that I might have got. I actually feel like I’ve played very, very well when I have led the tournaments and been in contention,” said Fleetwood.
“It’s just I might have not got things right at the end. It’s not like I’ve crashed and burned. It’s just that I’ve not quite finished things off.
“The people that win the most are the guys that are in contention the most and then they keep winning of course. That’s just what I want to do. That’s where I want to be. I keep going.”
Henley, who started out on Friday two shots clear of his playing partner Scottie Scheffler, recorded timely birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to sign for a four-under 66.
His US compatriot Cameron Young sits two shots back at 11 under after a scintillating performance, featuring six birdies on the back nine, helped him to a 62, the day’s best score.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre is one shot further behind at 10 under alongside Patrick Cantlay.
However, world number one Scheffler was unable to make significant inroads at the top of the leaderboard, with his 69 including three bogeys to put him at eight under.
Scheffler’s performance was encapsulated when he gave a fist pump after missing a par-saving putt on the 14th in a rare show of frustration.
On the same green, Ireland’s Shane Lowry holed a remarkable birdie putt from just over 97 feet – the longest in FedExCup play-offs history and sixth-longest on the PGA Tour since 2003.
That arrived as Lowry surged up the leaderboard after the turn, playing the final nine holes in six under.
It meant he added a 63 to his opening level-par 70 and put Lowry on seven under overall, along with Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy who enjoyed a bogey-free 67.
