On a day where the mentality was very much 'hold onto what you've got' at the Bridgestone Invitational, it was Shane Lowry who discarded those tactics, carding a superb 66 to take sole possession of second place, four shots behind leader Jim Furyk.
As the sun beat down yet again the Firestone greens began to firm up and become trecherously fast as players struggled to make a score.
That wasn’t the case for the Offaly man however. Bedecked in his now trademark, Gary Player-like black outfit, Lowry rolled in four birdies on the front nine, diluted only somewhat by a bogey on the third.
That took the 2009 Irish Open champion out in 32 and he wasn’t finished there.
Finding the fairway has always been paramount at Firestone and Lowry was splitting almost every one.
A booming 300 yard drive down the 11th left an approach of just 111 yards and he would spin that in to six feet to roll in another birdie and move into second place on his own.
It was the 14th however that possibly proved to be Lowry’s key hole. A misjudged second shot saw his ball scuttle into the bunker at the back of the green but from there he would flip it out to 10 feet before rolling in a crucial, clutch par putt.
That save would give him the momentum to find the back of the par three 15th green from where he rolled in a long birdie putt to close the gap yet further on Jim Furyk.
Pars at the 16th and the 17th saw him go to the final hole three behind the lead. However, a bogey there after his second shot flew the green meant that he signed for a 66 and had to settle for a total of four under par going into the weekend.
Steady play
Lowry lies four shots behind halfway leader Furyk after the typically steady competitor managed his way around the course in trademark fashion, carding seven birdies and three bogeys to take the midway lead.
It could have been better as well, were it not for a short missed par putt at the ninth, his last.
That bogey came after three birdies in four holes, including a beautifully played flop shot at the fifth which found the bottom of the cup for a two.
In contention
Out among the morning starters, Graeme McDowell battled hard to remain in contention as he looks to improve on a dismal season so far.
As steady starts go McDowell had the steadiest of all, opening with 10 straight pars as he played the course the opposite way around.
However, trouble around the green at the 11th would see the 2010 US Open card a six and drop back a shot.
A birdie two holes later at the fourth, thanks to an exquisite approach to two feet, was nullified by a bogey at the sixth.
Three straight pars to finish the round was enough to see the 36-year-old sign for a one over par 71, leaving him nicely placed going into the weekend.
For Pádraig Harrington it was a second successive two over par 72 as he failed to get any sort of birdie run together.
Level par for the round going to the 13th Harrington would fail to make par and followed that bogey up with another at the 14th to slip back to four over for the tournament.
