Jon Rahm completed his recovery from a dismal first day to shoot the low round of the Masters so far and storm into contention.
The Spaniard found trouble at the par-three 16th on Thursday on his way to an opening 75, but a birdie at that famous hole helped him go fully 10 shots lower on moving day at Augusta.
His round was then matched by Rickie Fowler, also searching for his first major at a course he knows so well. The American in fact had a chance to go one lower with a mid-range birdie attempt at the last which came up short.
Rahm birdied the first and second holes and was four-under for the day after chipping in for eagle at the par-five eighth, before a fine approach earned him another birdie at the 10th hole, traditionally the toughest on the course.
With a chip-in eagle on No. 8, @JonRahmpga soars into the top five. #themasters pic.twitter.com/CEHPkJU0zn
— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 7, 2018
Five pars followed, including at the reachable 13th and 15th holes, but Rahm's newfound patience paid off as he made two at the 16th, birdied the 17th and then two-putted from long range for par at the last.
"I realised the first day that basically every bogey I made was because I missed the fairway," said Rahm, who spoke of how valuable the advice of mentor Phil Mickelson had been in preparing him for his second Masters.
"There's a lot of golf to be played," he added, when asked what it would mean to succeed fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia and earn his first major title.
Fowler meanwhile birdied the 17th to move back ahead of Rahm, which is where he started the day, thanks to his career-low round at Augusta National.
Earlier, England's Matthew Fitzpatrick had produced the first sub-70 round of the day before his 67 was bettered by compatriot Tommy Fleetwood, who ought to have carded 65 only to miss a short putt at the last.
Vijay Singh produced the day's worst score, but a third-round 79 underlined that scoring conditions were much better than had been forecast at Augusta as players took advantage of rain-softened greens.
