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Portrush - Danny Willett claimed he gets more nervous playing against his friends than under the spotlight of a major championship after launching himself into contention at the Open Championship with a six-under round of 65 to move to seven-under.
LEADERBOARD: 148th Open Championship - Round 3
The Englishman has experienced the contrasting fortunes at the top of the golf game as after winning the Masters in 2016, he slipped down to 276 in the world due to injury and a loss of form.
However, his first victory in over two years in Dubai last November was the turning point for Willett to return to the world's top 100.
"I'm 31. I've done what most people wish to do in a career already. If you can't be relaxed playing in an Open early on a Saturday morning when can you," he said.
"I'm probably more nervous playing with the lads at home because I need to win."
Willett conceded there were some "dark times" during his fall from grace that saw him lose his PGA Tour card little over a year after donning the green jacket.
But he believes his new-found carefree attitude is the way to play his best golf.
"The more tense you get, the worse your breathing gets. The worse your breathing gets, the worse you're going to move. It just has an effect and stress is a big part of that," he added.
"When I was at my worse, that was one of the main factors. Now you can keep yourself relaxed and kind of go about things businesslike, but you might as well have fun doing it and go from there."
Scores from the third round of the Open Championship at Royal Portrush on Saturday (par 71):
197 - Shane Lowry (IRL) 67-67-63
201 - Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 68-67-66
203 - J.B. Holmes (USA) 66-68-69
204 - Brooks Koepka (USA) 68-69-67, Justin Rose (ENG) 69-67-68
205 - Rickie Fowler (USA) 70-69-66, Lee Westwood (ENG) 68-67-70
206 - Jon Rahm (ESP) 68-70-68, Jordan Spieth (USA) 70-67-69, Tony Finau (USA) 68-70-68, Danny Willett (ENG) 74-67-65
207 - Cameron Smith (AUS) 70-66-71, Dylan Frittelli (RSA) 68-69-70, Alexander Norén (SWE) 68-71-68, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 70-69-68, Andrew Putnam (USA) 70-67-70, Matt Kuchar (USA) 70-68-69
208 - Xander Schauffele (USA) 74-65-69
209 - Park Sang-Hyun (KOR) 69-72-68, Justin Thomas (USA) 71-70-68, Patrick Reed (USA) 71-67-71, Russell Knox (SCO) 70-71-68
210 - An Byeong-Hun (KOR) 73-67-70, Erik van Rooyen (RSA) 70-68-72, Justin Harding (RSA) 71-65-74, Webb Simpson (USA) 68-71-71, Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG) 71-69-70, Tyrrell Hatton (ENG) 68-71-71
211 - Romain Langasque (FRA) 69-72-70, Rory Sabbatini (SVK) 70-70-71, Kevin Kisner (USA) 70-71-70, Dustin Johnson (USA) 72-67-72, Tom Lewis (ENG) 75-68-68, Robert MacIntyre (SCO) 68-72-71, Graeme McDowell (NIR) 73-70-68
212 - Lucas Bjerregaard (DEN) 70-68-74, Sergio Garcia (ESP) 68-73-71, Mikko Korhonen (FIN) 72-69-71, Ernie Els (RSA) 71-69-72, Aaron Wise (USA) 72-69-71, Lucas Glover (USA) 72-69-71, Patrick Cantlay (USA) 70-71-71
213 - Yuki Inamori (JPN) 70-73-70, Hwang Inn-Choon (KOR) 72-71-70, Joost Luiten (NED) 73-69-71, Ryan Fox (NZL) 68-75-70, Charley Hoffman (USA) 70-73-70, Stewart Cink (USA) 74-68-71, Doc Redman (USA) 71-71-71
214 - Thomas Pieters (BEL) 72-68-74, Yosuke Asaji (JPN) 72-71-71, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 70-72-72, Andrew Wilson (ENG) 76-67-71
215 - Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 70-71-74, Adam Hadwin (CAN) 74-69-72, Benjamin Hébert (FRA) 73-69-73, Francesco Molinari (ITA) 74-69-72, Kyle Stanley (USA) 75-67-73, Paul Casey (ENG) 72-70-73, Matt Wallace (ENG) 73-70-72
216 - Branden Grace (RSA) 70-71-75, Bubba Watson (USA) 72-71-73, Jim Furyk (USA) 73-68-75, Kevin Streelman (USA) 77-65-74, Callum Shinkwin (ENG) 70-71-75
217 - Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN) 72-68-77, Jason Kokrak (USA) 74-69-74
218 - Nino Bertasio (ITA) 72-71-75, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 68-73-77, Eddie Pepperell (ENG) 70-72-76, Paul Waring (ENG) 75-68-75
219 - Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 70-72-77
220 - Ashton Turner (ENG) 69-74-77
