European Tour Members held four of the top five places on the leaderboard as Rory McIlroy put himself right back where he wanted to be in The Masters Tournament after a sparkling start to his second round.
While overnight leader Lee Westwood parred every hole on the outward half the 22 year old birdied three of the first seven.
And that, following as it did the two closing birdies for an opening 71, brought McIlroy only one off the pace after he began the event with a double bogey six yesterday.
Westwood was joined on five under par first by American Jason Dufner and then by Swedish Ryder Cup teammate Peter Hanson, but Dufner's double bogey at the short fourth allowed McIlroy to move up into joint third place with Spain's Sergio Garcia and another of the home contingent, Ben Crane.
Hanson, second overnight with Louis Oosthuizen, double bogeyed the first, while the South African had a similar fate at the second after going into the creek.
While Oosthuizen gradually clawed his way back to three under with two to play, Hanson roared into a share of the lead with birdies at the second, third and fourth.
McIlroy began his run with a 12 foot putt at the third, picked up a two on the short next and then birdied the 450 yard seventh.
Westwood missed only two fairways in his first day 67, but did not find either of the first two on his return.
That did not prevent him having birdie chances from seven and 18 feet, but he missed them both and could not convert a 15 foot effort at the third either.
Garcia, like the Englishman hoping to end his long wait for a first Major, resumed on level par and birdied the second, fourth, seventh and eighth.
Scot Paul Lawrie reached four under as well with a birdie at the third, but a bogey followed immediately.
England's Ian Poulter, meanwhile, was still well in touch at two under with four holes remaining.
He birdied the second and fourth, failed to get up and down from just off the tenth green, but then had an adventurous birdie on the long 13th. His second shot flew the green and he had to clamber into the bushes to play it, but somehow managed to chip it to five feet and gave a bow to the crowd before and after sinking the putt.
Padraig Harrington's four at the 575-yard second took him alongside Poulter, but Ross Fisher's bogey at the fourth saw him slip to level par.
Hanson led on his own for the first time when Westwood bogeyed the difficult 11th, but the former European Number One came straight back with an eight foot birdie putt on the next.
McIlroy parred the eighth and ninth to turn in 33, but although Garcia matched that it came after a bogey on the ninth and he returned to three under.
Hanson was in a tie for third with Oosthuizen, who with a strong finish for the second day running set the early clubhouse target on four under with a 72.
No fewer than seven players were locked in fifth spot on three under - McIlroy, Garcia, Lawrie, Crane, Miguel Angel Jiménez, Francesco Molinari and also 52 year old Fred Couples.
