Marc Leishman birdied his final hole for a two-under 68 to share of the second-round lead at the Travelers Championship.
Leishman, the 2012 winner at TPC River Highlands for his lone PGA Tour title, matched 2015 rookie of the year Daniel Berger (67), Russell Henley (65) and Tyrone Van Aswegen (66) at seven under.
Four players, including 49-year-old University of Hartford graduate Jerry Kelly, were a shot behind. Blayne Barber had the best round of the day at 64 to top the seven players two strokes back.
"The wind got up a little bit today, so you had to be playing good golf to shoot a really good number," Leishman said.
USA Olympians Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar all remained in contention.
Kuchar shot a 67 to move to four under. Reed, who turned 26 on Friday, also shot a 67 and was tied with Watson at three under. Seventy-three players made the cut by shooting even par or better.
"If you're close to the lead, you're close to missing the cut," said Paul Casey, who lost last year in a playoff and was among those tied for ninth place at five under.
Berger, who won his first PGA Tour title two months ago in Memphis at the St. Jude Classic, said he's finally back to 100 percent health after a left shoulder injury that he suffered at the US Open.
"I definitely played better than I thought I would," he said. "This is my seventh round in six weeks and for a professional golfer that's not a lot."