ATLANTA — Joe Durant stood over an 8-foot par putt on the par-3 closing hole at East Lake, needing to make it for his second straight round under par and to stay atop the leaderboard with Adam Scott in the Tour Championship.

A short time after he made that putt, someone asked him what turned around his year.

Durant didn't have to think too hard for an answer.

"Putting," he replied. "The 4- to 10-foot range really has been my nemesis, and I've made a lot of that distance. If you can make that length putt, it just takes so much pressure off the rest of your game. You don't feel like you've got to hit at every stick. And if you miss a green, you feel you can chip it to that range and make a bunch of them."

That carried him to a 2-under 68 Friday, and it explains his recent surge. He has not finished out of the top 10 in his last four tournaments, including a victory at Disney and a tie for fourth last week at Innisbrook to secure his spot among the top 30 on the money list that qualify for the Tour Championship.

It could go a long way at East Lake, too.

Scott kept his tee shots in play to set up 16 birdie chances, and he made enough of them for a 67 to match Durant at 4-under 136.

Trevor Immelman shot the best score of the week (66) and was in the group at 1-under 139 that included Brett Quigley, who remains the only player to get through 18 holes at East Lake without a bogey.

The final tournament of the year is quite a test, and it could come down to patience and putting.

"I just tried to stay very patient," Durant said, and that was a test in itself after he missed a 3-foot putt on his second hole.

Scott is trying to stay patient in other ways.

The 26-year-old Australian has been brilliant at times, becoming the youngest winner (23) of The Players Championship in 2004, beating a solid field at the Deutsche Bank Championship a year earlier. But he has disappeared at times during the season, especially in the majors.

"I've probably played the best I ever have over the period of a year, but have nothing much to show for it other than a win in Singapore," Scott said. "I was looking for a little bit more than that, really. This weekend is a good chance for me to get something out of my good play over the year."