Hovland and Gerard lead as Scottie Scheffler lurks at Tour Championship

Hovland, the 2023 FedExCup champion, closed with a birdie at the par-five 18th for a six-under 66 to reach 10 under at East Lake Golf Club.

"I found something that seems to be going straight, so very happy with that," Hovland told reporters. "Last week I drove it awful. The week before, not so great either. It's not like I've changed too much since those last few weeks, but I'm driving it better this week. You've just got to take advantage!"

Gerard matched Hovland's score after a 65, recovering from an early bogey with a strong run of birdies before also birdieing the last.

Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup are one shot back at nine under after rounds of 67, while Cameron Young produced the round of the day with a stunning 62 to climb from joint-last into fifth place at eight under.

Young made five birdies in six holes from the third before adding two more to start his back nine. He briefly moved within one of the lead before bogeying the 12th, but recovered spectacularly with a 40-foot eagle on the final hole.

Scheffler, the world No. 1 and one of the leading FedExCup contenders, also sits at eight under after a three-under 67. He made five birdies in a seven-hole stretch around the turn but dropped a shot at the 17th after a poor approach.

"Yesterday I had a clean card. Today I made a few bogeys. That's pretty much the difference in the score," he said.

Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick, Ludvig Aberg and Adam Scott are three shots off the pace at seven under, while defending champion Tommy Fleetwood is at four under and three-time FedExCup winner Rory McIlroy is a further shot back.

The leaderboard remains tightly packed, with 19 of the 29 players separated by just five shots heading into the weekend.