Rory McIlroy and Seamus Power sit tied-12th after their 36 holes at the RBC Heritage at the Harbour Town Links in South Carolina.
The Irish duo are on seven-under par at the conclusion of their round on Friday, four strokes adrift of the leading quartet of Collin Morikawa, Sepp Straka, JT Poston and Tom Hoge.
Power, who began with a superb opening 65, climbed to nine-under with three birdies on his outward nine, but lost ground on the way home, dropping strokes on 12 and 15.
McIlroy carded a blemish-free 68 to join Power on seven-under par, registering birdies on 1, 12 and 15.
Two-time major winner Morikawa remains at the head of the field, after following his opening 65 with a bogey-free 66 on Friday.
FULL LEADERBOARD
He is joined by Straka, who recovered from a double-bogey on his opening hole to fire eight birdies over the course of his round, and American Hoge, who shot a scintillating 64 on Friday.
Overnight leader JT Poston, who posted a blistering 63 on Thursday, carded a three-under 68 late on Day 2 to tie the lead on -11 heading into the weekend.
They are shot clear of a trio of players in second spot, including precocious Swede Ludvig Aberg, Patrick Rogers and McKenzie Hughes
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler moved ominously into contention late on Friday, registering six birdies en route to a 65 to get to eight-under par, three strokes off the leaders.
Shane Lowry, however, remains well off the pace, stuck on even par after carding 72 on Friday. On the outward nine, Lowry's birdies on the 2nd and 5th were cancelled out by bogeys on the 3rd and 8th. His inward nine was uneventful save for a bogey 5 on 18 as he slumped to a one-over par round.
Despite a previously fine record around the Pete Dye/Jack Nicklaus designed course - placing 3rd in 2022 - Lowry sits tied-58th in a 69-strong field. A designated elevated event, the RBC Heritage does not have a cut.
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