Rickie Fowler has given himself the chance of back-to-back wins after a brilliant third-round charge in the Players Championship at Sawgrass.
Six days after beating fellow 23-year-old Rory McIlroy in a play-off for his first PGA Tour victory, Fowler shot 66 in blustery conditions at golf's richest event.
It could have been even better. Fowler three-putted from just off the final green and as a consequence will go into the concluding 18 holes nine under par - three behind fellow American Kevin Na.
Best known for taking 16 on one hole of the Texas Open last year, Na birdied the final hole for a 68, but it was painful to watch at times.
He had so much trouble committing to shots that he repeatedly apologised to playing partner Zach Johnson for keeping him waiting. It also earned him a slow play warning eventually.
Matt Kuchar is one behind in second spot, but Fowler - up from 17th to third - was delighted to be in the title chase.
"I feel I am among the ones under the least pressure coming off a win," he said. "I'm really excited about tomorrow and very confident in my game.
"I felt like I had the speed with the putter and it was a lot of fun."
Americans have not won the first prize of well over £1million since Phil Mickelson five years ago, but it is looking good for them.
Johnson, a team-mate of Fowler and Kuchar in the last Ryder Cup, is joint fourth with 2003 Open champion Ben Curtis, who recently ended a long barren spell after losing his PGA Tour card.
Kuchar stood on the tee at the short 17th two clear, but dumped his ball in the lake.
He did well to escape with a bogey and made a great par save from the rough on the last for a 69.
Na explained: "I'm fighting with balance over the ball and I'm changing my backswing. There's a lot going on and I know the whole world's watching.
"It's really frustrating for me and I'm screaming at myself to pull the trigger.
"All I can do is my best. After backing off once I almost feel like I'm cornered. It's a tough situation, but I'm working on it and it's getting better. Hopefully it will go away by the end of the year."
Scot Martin Laird and Londoner Brian Davis - both based in the United States - remain the leading Europeans after 72s kept them six under.
They are joint sixth and Laird, seeking his third victory, said: "After the way I started I will take level par. It was extremely tough early on and I hit some bad shots.
"I hit a few good ones coming in, so that's good going into tomorrow."
Davis, yet to win in America, said: "The first six or seven holes were really hard, but on the back nine the wind dropped and there were some birdies to be had.
"I'm extremely disappointed with the finish, though."
He missed chances on the 16th and 17th and then failed to get up and down on the last.
"It leaves me with a lot to do, but my swing held up. I didn't putt well and I will go and work on that."
Luke Donald (72), Lee Westwood (74 without a single birdie) and Tiger Woods (72) failed to make the moves they were hoping for and will resume three under, one under and two under respectively, while Ian Poulter had a 71 playing with Fowler and stands four under - good enough for joint 14th.
Collated third round scores & totals in the USPGA Tour THE PLAYERS Championship, The TPC at Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra, Florida, United States of America
(USA unless stated, par 72):
204 Kevin Na 67 69 68
205 Matt Kuchar 68 68 69
207 Rickie Fowler 72 69 66
209 Zach Johnson 70 66 73, Ben Curtis 68 71 70
210 Brian Davis (Eng) 68 70 72, Martin Laird (Sco) 65 73 72, Jonathan Byrd 68 70 72, Jhonattan Vegas (Ven) 68 74 68
211 Charlie Wi (Kor) 71 67 73, Bo Van Pelt 71 70 70, Johnson Wagner 69 73 69, Blake Adams 66 73 72
212 Brendon De Jonge 69 71 72, Adam Scott (Aus) 68 70 74, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 73 71 68, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 73 69 70, Kevin Streelman 72 68 72, Phil Mickelson 71 71 70, Kevin Stadler 68 71 73, Jeff Maggert 70 71 71, Jimmy Walker 71 70 71, David Mathis 72 71 69, Ian Poulter (Eng) 65 76 71, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 71 72 69, Tim Clark (Rsa) 71 70 71
213 John Rollins 72 72 69, Bill Haas 68 71 74, Luke Donald (Eng) 72 69 72, John Huh (Kor) 75 66 72, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 70 73 70, Harrison Frazar 68 76 69, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 71 71 71
214 Spencer Levin 74 68 72, Bryce Molder 72 72 70, Tiger Woods 74 68 72, Pat Perez 69 75 70, Brian Gay 71 72 71, Chris Couch 72 71 71, Michael Thompson 68 71 75, Jim Furyk 72 70 72, Tom Gillis 70 71 73
215 Ricky Barnes 74 69 72, Peter Hanson (Swe) 73 71 71, Kris Blanks 69 74 72, Sung Kang (Kor) 75 68 72, Lee Westwood (Eng) 71 70 74
216 Chris Kirk 71 73 72, David Toms 69 74 73, Harris English 70 67 79, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 72 72 72, Keegan Bradley 72 70 74, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 72 72 72, Marc Leishman (Aus) 73 70 73, Ryan Moore 69 72 75
217 Nick Watney 71 70 76, Justin Leonard 75 68 74, Brian Harman 73 68 76
218 Bob Estes 73 69 76, J J Henry 71 73 74, Josh Teater 71 71 76
219 Robert Allenby (Aus) 72 72 75, Justin Rose (Eng) 76 68 75
220 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 70 74 76, Jason Dufner 73 71 76, Graham Delaet (Can) 71 73 76
221 Rodney Pampling (Aus) 71 72 78, David Hearn (Can) 69 75 77, Stewart Cink 71 72 78, Heath Slocum 73 70 78, Cameron Tringale 73 71 77
225 George McNeill 70 73 82
