Viktor Hovland shared the halfway lead at the 2023 US PGA Championship after a closing birdie in a second round of 67 at Oak Hill.
The Norwegian carded four birdies and only one bogey to move into a tie at five under par with Scottie Scheffler and Corey Conners, two clear of the field.
Hovland began with two birdies and after giving one shot back at the next, a perfectly-judged 18-foot birdie putt at the tenth got him back to two under for the day and four under for the tournament.
With Scheffler and Conners each dropping back from six under par late on, Hovland took the chance to join them at five under with a sumptuous left-to-right approach for birdie at the last.
He said: “I’m very happy with my day - hit a few more fairways than yesterday I think, hit a lot greens and gave myself a lot of looks for birdie, and a few par saves to keep the round going.
“I had a really nice seven iron in there (to the 18th), that hole location you’re just trying to leave it below the hole and make a nice par, but those birdies are a bonus."
Hovland is seeking to build on a strong performance at last month's Masters Tournament, where he finished in a tie for seventh.
A two-over-par final round of 74 at Augusta meant he was unable to challenge champion Jon Rahm.
“I feel my good ball striking is starting to come back, I’m getting that fade back and the predictability is there," he said.
“It’s just putting all the pieces together. I’ve played a lot of weekends but had some rough rounds at weekends, so it’s just trying to put all four rounds together.”
Conners started at the tenth and made birdies on the 13th and 15th to turn in 33. Another at the second took him three under on the day and six under for the tournament, two clear at the time.
Scheffler, like Hovland, made a flying start with birdies at his first two holes before a bogey at the seventh meant he turned in 34. He kept himself in the hunt with six consecutive pars before another pair of back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th took him alongside Conners at the summit.
Conners then dropped a shot at the seventh after pulling his tee-shot and leaving his approach from the left rough short, but Scheffler's par putt at the last just shaved the hole and stayed up to leave the pair level before they were joined by Hovland.
World Number Two Scheffler was not getting carried away with his position and said: "The tournament is halfway done. I had two good days so far, and I'm just hoping to continue that.
"I find myself comfortable in these situations. These are the positions I want to be in. I want to be near the lead.
"I'm proud of how I did the first two days, and I'm excited to be in a good position going into the weekend. With that being said, I'm going to keep my head down and keep doing what I'm doing."
Conners added: "Very pleased with the score. Felt like I made a bunch of key putts to keep momentum going, and that was really the key to the day.
"My speed has been great and I've been seeing a number of putts go in, which feels good."
Americans Justin Suh and Bryson DeChambeau were the nearest challengers to the leaders at three under.
Justin Rose had set an early clubhouse target at one under while Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry took contrasting routes to level par.
McIlroy was flirting with the cut line when back-to-back bogeys at the sixth and seventh left him three over for the week, but a crucial birdie at the ninth got him back on track and two more followed on the back nine.
Lowry was out in level par and made five birdies in a stunning six-hole stretch on the back nine, leaving him on the coat-tails of the leaders until a bogey-bogey finish.
