Graeme McDowell charged into contention at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational by birdieing the last four holes at Firestone Country Club.
The US Open Championship winner produced a solid first 14 holes before finding his range with his irons in Ohio.
But it was his putting that most pleased McDowell on his return to the country where he landed his first Major Championship.
"I had a nice finish," said the 31 year old. "I actually played good today - I hit a lot of fairways.
"The only tee I probably missed was ten and I made bogey there, but that was my only bogey of the day, and it's probably the best golf I've played since Pebble.
"I've been a bit under the radar this week, its felt nice. I've really been practicing well the last two days and it was nice to go out there and play and hit some fairways and hit some good iron shots and make some putts.
"I burned the edge on 13 and 14. I hit a really good four iron on 15 and manage to sneak it in there, and then I made three really nice putts coming in, sort of 12 feet, 20 feet and 12 feet on the last.
"So nice to hole some putts - the putter has been a little cold, certainly at the Irish Open, even at the British Open, as well, so it's nice to get that thing heated back up again."
McDowell's 66 was enough for a share of second place, two behind Bubba Watson.
The American shot a six under par 64 in Akron, Ohio, with seven birdies and a solitary dropped shot at the 15th moving him clear of a group of four players tied for second place.
Completing the quartet alongside McDowell are Australian Adam Scott, American veteran Kenny Perry and Masters Tournament Champion Phil Mickelson - who could end Tiger Woods 270 week reign as World Number One with a good performance in Ohio.
Scott and Perry both managed to keep a bogey off their card, while Mickelson recovered brilliantly from being two over through six to produce a back nine 30.
"It was just going along with a couple of birdies to get it back to even, one under par, and on six, I pulled an iron shot to the right and I needed to get that up-and-down to maintain some momentum," said the World Number Two.
"I was only one under par, and I was just trying to keep it just a couple under, seeing if I could get one or two more.
"And when that lob shot went in the hole, it gave me a nice boost. Not only did I get it up-and-down but I made a nice birdie and was able to get two more coming in."
Scott was delighted to return to form as he looks to secure a first World Golf Championships title.
"I'm really pleased with today, no bogeys, certainly been a while for me since I had a round like that," said Scott.
"But I played really nicely, and the couple times I was a little off course, I managed to scramble well and not drop any shots, so kept the momentum going, and a solid start around here - pretty demanding."
Retief Goosen is amongst those on three under, while France’s Gregory Bourdy, England’s Paul Casey and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy all signed for rounds of 68.
