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Britain's Luke Donald edged closer in his bid to become world No 1 for the first time when he opened a one-stroke lead in The Heritage second round on Friday.
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Donald, who will take over at the top of the rankings if he triumphs at Harbour Town Golf Links on Sunday, fired a six-under-par 65 to take control of the PGA Tour event.
The rock-steady Englishman, who claimed his maiden victory on the US circuit at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in February and finished no worse than joint 10th in his next three starts, posted a 10-under total of 132.
American Garrett Willis, the first-round leader, was alone in second place after carding a 69.
Asked if he was playing like a world No 1, Donald told reporters: "Not yet."
However, he is fully aware of what success at Harbour Town on Sunday would mean.
"I guess it's always in the back of your mind," said world No 3 Donald, who would leapfrog second-ranked fellow Briton Lee Westwood and top-ranked German Martin Kaymer with victory here.
"It's hard to get away from knowing that with Twitter and Facebook and the media and everything. You obviously know what's at stake. It would certainly be an honour and a great achievement to accomplish."
However, Donald has a lot more to worry about at Harbour Town than the rankings with a strong quartet of players in close pursuit.
Colombian Camilo Villegas (68), Australian Jason Day (65), defending champion Jim Furyk (66) and fellow American Chad Campbell (69) trail by two with Briton Ian Poulter (66) and American Ben Crane (66) a further stroke adrift.
Yet Donald could be considered due a victory at Harbour Town, having tied for third last year and second in 2009, albeit 10 strokes behind winner Brian Gay.
"Any time you play a course well, you approach it with a little bit more confidence," Donald said. "You start hitting in the right places continually and that's where you expect to hit it."
Furyk also knows what it is like to flourish at Harbour Town.
Prior to his win last year, he posted two runner-up finishes and a fourth in his five previous appearances and will not surrender his title here without a fight.
Furyk, who opened with a 68, made a fast start for a second successive day with birdies on his first three holes – the 10th, 11th and 12th where he holed putts from 15, six and 12 feet.
"I kind of cooled off both rounds afterwards, but I felt like I played a very good round of golf today," Furyk said after taking advantage of another calm morning at Harbour Town.
The 40-year-old picked up further shots on the two par-fives on his back nine, the second and fifth, to climb into a share of the lead.
"Overall I really felt a lot more comfortable today with my ball-striking and with my putting," Furyk said. "I played well and I kind of gutted it out."
Day, 23, continued his strong play from the Masters, where he birdied Augusta National's final two holes to tie for second place on his debut at the season's opening major.
"To know exactly what I did out there (at Augusta) in the last round, taking what I did out there and applying it to each round helps a lot," Day said after a six-birdie display.
Others likely to be in the title hunt over the weekend included Americans Brandt Snedeker (67), Mark Wilson (70) and D.J. Trahan (67), who were knotted at six under.
The cut fell at one over with 2009 US Open champion Lucas Glover, five-times Heritage winner Davis Love III and former world No 1 Ernie Els among those failing to advance.
Full Scoreboard and Live scoring
Donald, who will take over at the top of the rankings if he triumphs at Harbour Town Golf Links on Sunday, fired a six-under-par 65 to take control of the PGA Tour event.
The rock-steady Englishman, who claimed his maiden victory on the US circuit at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in February and finished no worse than joint 10th in his next three starts, posted a 10-under total of 132.
American Garrett Willis, the first-round leader, was alone in second place after carding a 69.
Asked if he was playing like a world No 1, Donald told reporters: "Not yet."
However, he is fully aware of what success at Harbour Town on Sunday would mean.
"I guess it's always in the back of your mind," said world No 3 Donald, who would leapfrog second-ranked fellow Briton Lee Westwood and top-ranked German Martin Kaymer with victory here.
"It's hard to get away from knowing that with Twitter and Facebook and the media and everything. You obviously know what's at stake. It would certainly be an honour and a great achievement to accomplish."
However, Donald has a lot more to worry about at Harbour Town than the rankings with a strong quartet of players in close pursuit.
Colombian Camilo Villegas (68), Australian Jason Day (65), defending champion Jim Furyk (66) and fellow American Chad Campbell (69) trail by two with Briton Ian Poulter (66) and American Ben Crane (66) a further stroke adrift.
Yet Donald could be considered due a victory at Harbour Town, having tied for third last year and second in 2009, albeit 10 strokes behind winner Brian Gay.
"Any time you play a course well, you approach it with a little bit more confidence," Donald said. "You start hitting in the right places continually and that's where you expect to hit it."
Furyk also knows what it is like to flourish at Harbour Town.
Prior to his win last year, he posted two runner-up finishes and a fourth in his five previous appearances and will not surrender his title here without a fight.
Furyk, who opened with a 68, made a fast start for a second successive day with birdies on his first three holes – the 10th, 11th and 12th where he holed putts from 15, six and 12 feet.
"I kind of cooled off both rounds afterwards, but I felt like I played a very good round of golf today," Furyk said after taking advantage of another calm morning at Harbour Town.
The 40-year-old picked up further shots on the two par-fives on his back nine, the second and fifth, to climb into a share of the lead.
"Overall I really felt a lot more comfortable today with my ball-striking and with my putting," Furyk said. "I played well and I kind of gutted it out."
Day, 23, continued his strong play from the Masters, where he birdied Augusta National's final two holes to tie for second place on his debut at the season's opening major.
"To know exactly what I did out there (at Augusta) in the last round, taking what I did out there and applying it to each round helps a lot," Day said after a six-birdie display.
Others likely to be in the title hunt over the weekend included Americans Brandt Snedeker (67), Mark Wilson (70) and D.J. Trahan (67), who were knotted at six under.
The cut fell at one over with 2009 US Open champion Lucas Glover, five-times Heritage winner Davis Love III and former world No 1 Ernie Els among those failing to advance.
