NORTON, Mass. -- Charley Hoffman, who five years ago closed with a 62 to win at TPC Boston, made birdie on half of his holes for a 63 that gave him a 3-shot lead over Brendon de Jonge after 36 holes at the Deutsche Bank Championship on Saturday.
Rickie Fowler (67) and The Open champion Zach Johnson (65) were another shot behind.
PGA champion Jason Day kept alive his hopes to be No. 1 for the first time with another 68 that left him in a tie for 10th, 6 shots behind.
Hoffman made a tap-in birdie on the par-3 11th early in his second round, poured in four putts from the 12-foot range and three more from inside 5 feet. He traded a bogey with a birdie at the end to reach 12-under 130.
The biggest difference from his previous low round at the TPC Boston was that he left with the trophy in 2010. This time, he still has two more rounds before the Labor Day finish.
"It was a little different five years ago," Hoffman said. "I came from a decent back, so I didn't have to deal with the lead. Anytime you are in the lead you put a lot of pressure on yourself. And obviously I've got to deal with that tonight. ... Just try to keep doing what I'm doing, making a lot of putts and hitting a decent amount of fairways for me, which is a nice combo."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.