Jim Furyk birdied two of the last four holes for a four-under-par 67 and a two-shot lead in the Heritage Classic second round at Hilton Head in South Carolina.
One off the pace overnight, the 35-year-old American mixed six birdies with consecutive bogeys from the eighth to finish on 11-under 131 at the Harbour Town Golf Links.
Australia's Aaron Baddeley, who holed out from 164 yards for an eagle-two at the last, also fired a 67 to share second place at nine under. Level with Baddeley were overnight leader Vaughn Taylor (70) and fellow Americans Brian Gay (67) and Duffy Waldorf (68).
Taylor, who set the first-round pace with a sparkling 63, got to 11 under after making birdies at the fifth, eighth and ninth before dropping back with bogeys on 11 and 13.
"I ran into a little tough spot with a couple of bogeys but was able to fight through it and play solid starting out the back nine," 2003 US Open champion Furyk told reporters after sinking a 55-foot birdie putt at the last.
"I kept a good day going out there." A 10-times winner on the PGA Tour, Furyk has set his sights on at least doubling that figure. "Winning golf tournaments is what's important," he added. "I'd like to get in the position where I had 20 wins or 25 wins or something like that.
"I definitely build a schedule around the tournaments that I feel I have the best opportunity to win. I'll pick and choose my events like this one, Doral and Riviera, courses I think are very good, places where I think I can compete and have a chance to win."
Baddeley, chasing his first victory on the PGA Tour, recovered from an ugly triple-bogey seven at the eighth with a scorching back nine of five-under 30. Birdies at the 14th, 15th and 16th lifted him to seven under before he finished in style with his eagle at the last, holing out from 164 yards with an eight-iron.
"Both days, I've been trying to just be patient," the 25-year-old Australian said. "Even though I made triple (bogey), I was still only four off the lead. So I thought: 'If you make a few coming in, you're going to be right there for the weekend.' And that's what I did. Patience is the thing."
Straight-driving American Fred Funk, who added a 66 to his opening 68, was tied for sixth at eight under with compatriots Tom Pernice junior (69) and Billy Mayfair (69), plus Australia's Geoff Ogilvy (68).
Of the other big names, twice major champion John Daly fired a 67 to finish at five under, level with South Africa's Tim Clark, who shot a best-of-the-day 65. World number five Ernie Els also carded a 67, his four-under total one better than 11th-ranked Chris DiMarco (70), 1997 winner Nick Price of Zimbabwe (69), British Ryder Cup player Ian Poulter (70) and 1997 British Open champion Justin Leonard (69).
Germany's Bernhard Langer, the 1985 winner, returned a second successive 70 to stand at two under while French Ryder Cup player Thomas Levet (71) was a further two strokes adrift.
The halfway cut fell at level-par 142 with 77 players qualifying for the weekend. Among those missing out were twice US Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, the Irish trio of; Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Graeme McDowell plus Nick Faldo and double US Open champion Lee Janzen.
