Starting the day one off the pace, Schwartzel drained a 25-footer at the 10th - his opening hole - and followed a six-foot birdie at the 14th with back-to-back gains from the 16th to reach the turn in 31.
Berger shot a bogey-free four-under par to emerge on top of a crowded leaderboard at TPC Southwind, finishing at 10-under 270 for the tournament.
It was only his second appearance on the PGA Tour this season. He's only made two cuts this year and hasn't finished better than a tie for 62nd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.
"I'm extremely proud", Berger said. "Like one round is not that big a deal".
Schwartzel, who has 12 birdies over his first 36 holes, tweeted earlier this week the he made a decision to play this event late in the hopes of honing his game for the U.S. Open.
He sank birdie putts from about 10 feet away at both the second and sixth, and sank a shorter birdie attempt at the ninth.
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"I feel great, I feel like I broke through", she said.
"I'm one-for-one defending titles, so that's a pretty good stat", he joked after securing his second PGA Tour victory at the age of 24.
In a keenly-fought contest, which at one point included nine players tied for the lead, Berger picked up a birdie on 15 to move clear. "Hot some days, cold some days".
The 44-year-old Cink is in good position to get his first victory since winning the 2009 British Open.
"On this golf course you really have to do everything well", Schwartzel said on Thursday.
The 24-year-old former Florida State standout is the fourth back-to-back victor at St. Jude and the first since David Toms in 2003-04. The Austrian, the highest-ranked player in the field at 29th, completed his round with two straight birdies. After missing a 2-foot putt on No. 8, he flipped his putter in the air and the head snapped off when it struck the ground. "I can't think of a better place to put it all together than right here". He finished with a 72. Lefty will get the headlines on the weekend, though, as he's been in the top five in three of the last four tournaments here and is skipping next week's major to be at his daughter's graduation.
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