Rory McIlroy remains in the hunt for a fourth victory of the year after moving up the leaderboard during the second round of the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
The world No 3 only posted two birdies an opening round 71, but fired a much-improved 66 on Friday to head in to the weekend within six strokes of midway pacesetter Hideki Matsuyama.
McIlroy followed a front-nine 33 with three gains in a four-hole stretch after the turn, before following a sole blemish at the 16th by picking up a shot at the last to move inside the top 10.
"I've been able to come back from six behind with 18 to play, so over 36 holes a lot of things can happen," McIlroy told Sky Sports. "I felt like I hit the ball very similar the first two days.
"I was just able to capitalise on some of the good drives that I hit today and being able to hole a few more putts makes a big difference at the end of the day.
"Hideki's playing very well and will be tough to catch, but from what I saw out there today, if I can keep that sort of golf going over the next two days I should have a chance."
This week's appearance marks McIlroy's first competitive start since the Ryder Cup and a first tournament since winning last month's Tour Championship.
The FedExCup champion currently sits third in the Race to Dubai standings, with McIlroy still having the opportunity in the coming weeks to match Stenson's 2013 achievement of winning both money lists in the same season.
"It's a little difficult coming off two weeks of intense competition when your adrenalin's pumping and it's sometimes hard to get yourself back up for it," McIlroy added.
"But it's a WGC and I think after the FedEx Cup I needed to reassess my goals and try and do the double, win the Race to Dubai as well as what I've already achieved this year.
"There's a lot to play for and that's why it's pretty easy to get motivated for the next few weeks."
Watch the WGC-HSBC Championship throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf. Live coverage begins on Saturday from 4am.