Arjun Atwal surged to the top of the McGladrey Classic leaderboard with a second round seven-under 63 on Friday, while Australian Gavin Coles remains in the mix. Atwal is aiming to win just his second PGA Tour title after taking out the Wyndham Championship in 2010. The Indian golfer is on track to secure his first top-five of the season after he carded eight birdies to end the day at 10-under overall, one-stroke ahead of American pair Davis Love III and Jim Furyk. Love, the captain of the US Ryder Cup team that suffered a dramatic defeat against Europe in September, shot a four-under 66, while Furyk carded a five-under 65 at the Seaside Course in Georgia. Coles mounted a charge up the leaderboard and is poised in a three-way tie for fourth as the tournament reached the half-way mark. Coles produced a three-under 67 in the opening round and bettered that effort with a five-under 65 in Georgia, which included six birdies. The 43-year-old, a five-time winner on the Nationwide Tour, is two shots off the pace alongside Bud Cauley (70) and David Toms (67). Fellow Australian Mathew Goggin also improved on his first round display, shooting a four-under 66 to move within three strokes of Atwal. Goggin, who finished in a tie for 22nd at the Frys.com Open, shares seventh with Americans Michael Thompson (68), Brian Gay (68), D.J. Trahan (67) and Chad Campbell (67), and Englishman Greg Owen (69). Former world number one Vijay Singh rose two places into a tie for 13th on Friday following his two-under 68 performance. Australian duo Jason Day and Steven Bowditch sit alongside the Fijian after three-under 67 and four-under 66 rounds respectively. Meanwhile, Rod Pampling failed to replicate his opening round effort, shooting a one-over 71 as he fell 17 places to 20th.
Author: Omnisport