Matt Kuchar struck a second successive round of 66 at the Memorial Tournament to hold a tie for the lead at 12 under par in Ohio with fellow American Brendan Steele.
Kuchar, the 2013 winner, was well-placed after the first round and posted seven birdies - including the final two holes - to force his way to the top of the leaderboard.
Steele also birdied the par-four 18th on his way to a round of 67 in calm conditions at Muirfield Village and both look in good shape heading into the weekend.
Speaking to www.pgatour.com, Kuchar said: "I'm delighted, I've been in some great form over the last three weeks and I've come in here playing some good golf and it's good to keep it going.
"This course offers a great variety of holes, so precision is key for sure. Length is always an advantage but here you can get away with picking and choosing your chances to take advantage and I've been doing a pretty good job so far."
Argentina's Emiliano Grillo and long-hitting American Gary Woodland were at 11 under after carding rounds of 66 and 65 respectively.
Rory McIlroy shot 66 to reach seven under and the Northern Irishman's switch back to a conventional grip may be yielding benefits if his putt on the 10th hole is anything to go by.
McIlroy drained a curling 36-foot effort for birdie and heads into Saturday five shots adrift of the leaders.
World number one Jason Day, meanwhile, followed up his opening round of 66 with an erratic 71 to drop five strokes off the pace.
Jordan Spieth is a shot further back on six under after a 68 while England's Luke Donald, at four under, also made the cut despite a disappointing round of 73.
Scotland's Russell Knox also forced his way into the weekend action and is currently two under par but Paul Casey missed the cut after a five-over round of 77.
Source: PA
