An in-form Dustin Johnson made a 110-yard eagle on his way to a one-stroke halfway lead at the PGA Tour's St Jude Classic on Friday.
The world No.2 turned it on after a pedestrian opening nine, holing out from the fairway at his 10th hole, the par-four first, where his ball took a couple of bounces and disappeared into the cup.
Remarkably, he almost achieved the extremely rare feat of consecutive eagles from the fairway when his approach from 113 yards at the next imparted heavy backspin and rolled back directly towards the hole at TPC Southwind in Tennessee.
"I hit a lot of great shots and had a lot of good looks at birdies," Johnson said after posting a 10-under 130 total, one stroke ahead of fellow Americans Ryan Blaum (64) and Andrew Putnam (64).
US Open champion Brooks Koepka carded 69 to slip five strokes behind, while Phil Mickelson (70) fell six adrift, to sit alongside Australians Stuart Appleby and Matt Jones even on the card.
"When you're around or in the lead you can definitely feel the pressure but I like it," Johnson, 33, said.
"I hadn't played a whole lot the last couple of months. I felt it was more beneficial to play here and be sharp going into the US Open than to stay home and maybe go up there a couple of days early."
Mickelson, who needs to win next week to become the sixth man to complete the modern grand slam, also likes playing the week before majors, though he was not sharp on Friday.
"I didn't really have it today but I was able to close out the round with a couple of birdies and get it back to even," he said.
"My iron play needs to be a little bit better. And when I miss a green I've got to be sharper around the greens."
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