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Shane Lowry Firestoned Akron with a second round 66 to sit four behind outright leader Jim Furyk’s to seize a share of second at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Lowry signed for a four under par card and remains in the chase alongside Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson.
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 the birdie that moved him 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.
It could have all been even 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.
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 Padraig 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.
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