Shane Lowry goes into the final day of the Bridgestone Invitational just two shots off the lead after a round of 67 left him out on his own in third place behind leaders Justin Rose and Jim Furyk.
The Offaly man played some great, aggressive golf as climbed the leaderboard as two birdies on the front nine saw him put pressure on overnight leader Furyk.
Lowry was within a shot of the lead after his fourth birdie of the day on the 12th, but bogeyed the next two holes before a birdie on the 16th helped the 28-year-old card a third-round 67.
"Obviously this is a massive tournament and it's going to be a big day for me tomorrow," Lowry told Sky Sports 4.
"Going out here in contention is a lot different than going out in contention in a smaller event back home, but we're going to try and hit the first tee shot down the middle of the fairway and take it from there."
Justin Rose had the round of the day with a flawless 63 to claim a share of the lead.
Rose had carded 17 pars and one bogey in a second round of 71 in Akron, extending an unwelcome streak without a birdie to 30 holes to start the day six shots off the lead.
However, the Ryder Cup star made amends in brilliant fashion with seven birdies - four of the them in the last six holes - to finish nine under par alongside Furyk, who returned a 69.
"I felt like I could have birdied most of the holes out there and it just didn't happen. It would have been easy to get frustrated (on Friday) and go backwards, but I think (Saturday) was a product of staying patient (on Friday) and still believing I was playing well," Rose said.
Furyk has recorded nine top-10 finishes at this tournament, including five in a row from its inception in 1999, and memorably lost a seven-hole play-off to Tiger Woods in 2001.
The world number six also squandered a one-shot lead with one hole to play in 2012, carding a double bogey from the middle of the 18th fairway to lose out by a shot to Keegan Bradley.
Consecutive rounds of 66 meant Furyk began the third round with a four-shot lead and he briefly enjoyed that cushion again following his third birdie of the day on the 11th.
However, the 45-year-old bogeyed the next and was unable to find any more birdies on the closing stretch to end the day tied with Rose
