Lee Janzen, who has not won since claiming his second US Open title in 1998, built a two-stroke lead in n PGA BellSouth Classic after carding a third-round five-under-par 67.
Janzen was even with Bob Tway after 16 holes before birdying the final two holes.
"I had no idea what I did," said Janzen. "That's a sports psychologist's dream, is for a player to tell him he didn't know he made those birdies.
"I was just playing one shot at a time. I certainly didn't have the groove I had the first two days. I was just trying to survive."
Janzen played the final 13 holes in six-under to reach 13-under For the first time in a while, he will sleep on a lead.
"If I can just fall asleep, then hopefully I can do the rest from there, just stay asleep," said Janzen.
Tway and Tom Pernice Jr. will join Janzen in the last group.