Sergio Garcia armed himself with a new putter and an old technique to storm into contention for a second Players Championship title on the third day at TPC Sawgrass.
Garcia had reverted to a conventional putting grip for the opening two days, but a poor back-nine in the second round left him five shots off the lead going into the weekend and prompted him to snap his putter in half following his level-par 72.
But the Spaniard switched back to the "claw" method for round three and put a new custom-made putter in his bag, and the move paid handsome dividends as he rolled in five birdie putts on the back-nine alone in a 67 that lifted him to eight under for the tournament.
Garcia made a bright start with a chip-in for eagle at the second, and he bogeyed the seventh before beginning the back-nine with three consecutive birdies before missing from three feet for another at the 13th.
He also missed a six-footer for par at the next, but he rolled in confident putts for birdies at 16 and 17 before holing from 12 feet for a clutch par on the final green.
"Unfortunately I am still not 100 per cent with my putting. I missed three or four shorties but at least it was nice to make that last one on 18," Garcia told Sarah Stirk at the Sky Cart on Sky Sports 4.
Clutch par at 18
"That was big. I hit a great shot and a bad second, hit a very good chip and to be able to make that putt hopefully gives me a chance to do something (on Sunday)."
The 2008 champion said he would stick with the "claw" grip for the final round, adding: "Even when it does not feel great, it still feels less bad than the other one. Hopefully I get some confidence from the nice putts I made today and try to forget the bad ones."
Garcia's round took him to eight under alongside young American Justin Thomas, who had a tournament-record 10 birdies in his 65 which equalled the lowest round of the week.
Thomas is a close friend of Masters champion Jordan Spieth and admitted the Texan's Masters victory in April was a major source of inspiration.
"It's been very motivating," the 22-year-old said. "He is a good buddy of mine and has done some pretty amazing things this year.
"Although it's been fun to watch, it's been a little bit indifferent because I want to be up there battling it out with him in majors. I have some work to do but I feel like I am trending in the right direction.
"I've been struggling on Saturdays so far this year and maybe the key is to play a little poorly the first two days, I don't know what it is, but, yeah, it was big today.
"It was one of the best rounds I've probably ever played in competition. To do it at a stage like this and a field and a golf course like this, to get back in the tournament was big."
Live final round coverage from Sawgrass starts Sunday ay 7pm on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.