Bob Estes followed up his opening 61 with a second round 66 to move four shots clear of ScottMcCarron, Brent Schwarzrock and Sweden's Jesper Parnevik at the $3.5 million St. Jude Classic yesterday.
Estes played solidly and kept all the competition at bay as he finished on 127, 15 under par.
McCarron fired a six-under-par 65, the highlight of which was a sequence of three straight birdies starting at the par-four 10th.
Schrwarzrock, who is 123rd on the money list but finished tied for ninth at the Kemper Insurance Open two weeks ago, carded a 67 to stand alongside McCarron and Parnevik on 131.
Parnevik produced the lowest round of the day, a seven-under-par 64 which contained seven birdies.
Like McCarron, the Swede birdied three holes in a row but his run started at the par-five third.
Curtis Strange and John Daly both moved into a challenging position. Strange added a 67 to his opening 65 and is alone in fifth place on 132 while Daly returned a 65 to join four other players on 134. -Reuters