Jimmy Walker left the booming, highlight-reel drives to his playing partner. A low score was good enough for him.
Walker shot an 8-under 62 on Friday to take the lead at 12-under 128 after two rounds in the Wyndham Championship.
Defending champion Webb Simpson (63) was one stroke back. First-round leader Carl Pettersson (68), Tim Clark (67), Sergio Garcia (63) and rookie Harris English (64) were at 10 under.
Tim Herron matched the tournament record with a 61, but was still nine strokes back.
Play was halted for 1 hour, 17 minutes late in the day when a system of thunderstorms passed through the central North Carolina Triad.
Walker, who began the day four strokes back, had eight birdies in compiling one of the best two-day scores in event history.
Only Pettersson at 125 in 2008 was better than Walker through 36 holes at Sedgefield Country Club.
"I was playing with J.B. (Holmes), and he was bombing the driver everywhere, and I was just kind of bunting the 5-wood around and hitting good approach shots," Walker said. "It was pretty boringlooking golf - not a lot of drivers, not a lot of 3-woods. There's a lot of 5-woods and some irons, and it's just kind of placement around the golf course."
Walker hopes his strong round proves that he's getting back to the form from earlier this year, when the winless 33-year-old Texan finished in the top 10 in three of his first six tournaments.
Things went south when he tore his left meniscus, so instead of going to the U.S.
Open, he went to the doctor for a cortisone shot to reduce the swelling.
Now that he can bend down and read greens again, he can do some damage with his putter. He used it just 26 times Friday, and didn't even need it on No. 2 because he chipped in from 50 feet.
"If it wouldn't have gone in, it probably would have rolled over the back of the green," he said.
Pettersson, who shot a 62 on Thursday while playing in the morning, found his familiar Sedgefield course to play tougher in the afternoon. The Raleigh resident and member of the country club's board of directors had two bogeys in a threehole span midway his round, then came on strong with consecutive birdies on Nos. 9-10 and an eagle on the par-5 15th.
He broke his driver on the next-to-last hole of the first round, used his backup driver Friday and will stick with it now.
"I struggled today," Pettersson said. "Didn't have much today, but I thought it was a good comeback. ... Two-under par was OK for the game that I had, and hopefully I can hit the ball better on the weekend and have a chance."
MIYAZATO, MICHAELS TAKE LPGA LEAD
NORTH PLAINS, Oregon - Mika Miyazato and Sydnee Michaels shot 7-under 65 on Friday in 100-degree heat to share the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour's Safeway Classic.
Miyazato and Michaels each had eight birdies and a bogey on Pumpkin Ridge's Ghost Creek Course.
Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park and Pornanong Phatlum were a stroke back.
