Aussies John Senden and Mark Hensby are equal eighth on eight-under-par at the halfway point of the Wyndham Championship and trail leader Carl Pettersson by seven strokes. Senden started on the back nine and got off to a shaky start with consecutive bogeys at the 12th and 13th holes but he recorded four birdies and an eagle in the last 11 to finish with a four-under-par second round of 66. Hensby also recorded a 66 after starting on the back nine with birdies at the 12th, 15th, 16th, 1st, 2nd and 7th countered by a double-bogey at the 18th. Fellow Australian David Lutterus is a shot further back on seven-under after he registered a six-under-par round-two 64. However, Pettersson carded a course record nine-under-par 61 to match the record-low numerical score for the first 36 holes of a PGA Tour event. Taking advantage of vulnerable Sedgefield in ideal morning conditions, the North Carolina-based Swede plundered 11 birdies and two bogeys to post a 15-under 125 halfway total. He earned a three-stroke lead over Garrett Willis, with Scott McCarron four shots back and Kevin Streelman trailing by five. Pettersson narrowly failed to make the European Ryder Cup team two years ago, but, with less than three weeks until the team is picked for the biennial showdown with the United States, he may have played himself into contention. “I was close last time and I kept looking at (the rankings), so I&aposm trying to forget about it,” he said. “I would love to play in it but I&aposm just trying to play well here and if I play well it will take care of itself. It&aposs not like I&aposve done anything spectacular this year (but) a win here would be nice.” Pettersson is unlikely to win an automatic spot on the European team, even if he wins this week, because he is 17th on the world points list, with only the top five earning selection. However, he could come into consideration for one of captain Nick Faldo&aposs two wild card picks. After going eight-under for the day through 14 holes, Pettersson briefly thought about the possibility of shooting 59, only to promptly bogey the par-five 15th after taking four shots to hole out from 70 feet. “I could have played a safe (third shot) pitch out to about 15 feet, but I had momentum with me and it wasn&apost that hard a shot,” he said. “I chunked it in the bunker and then didn&apost get up and down, but it was nice to come back with birdies on 16 and 17 to end the round on a good note.” Pettersson&aposs score matched the lowest of his PGA Tour career, his other 61 coming on the Palm course at Disney World, a par-72 layout that the pros routinely take apart in the tour&aposs annual fall stop. “I&aposm thrilled with the way I&aposm playing but you can&apost relax until Sunday night,” said the two-time PGA Tour winner. “I knew at the beginning of the week it was going to be a low scoring week, just because you have a lot of wedges, eight irons and nine irons (and) the two par fives are very reachable.” Willis, meanwhile, could not match Pettersson&aposs heroics, but a 64 was nothing to be ashamed of. “I was glad Carl ran out of holes,” said Willis, the 2001 Tucson champion, whose exempt status as a past champion is so low on the pecking order that he has played only 10 tournaments this year. The cut fell at three-under 137 and a tournament that already lacked star power lost its only world top-20 player when Vijay Singh bowed out. However, John Daly, always an attraction, even if only as a side-show, survived with nothing to spare. Australian pair Tim Flanagan and Peter Lonard are 12 shots off the pace on three-under while Matt Jones (two-under) and Jason Day (one-over) trail further behind. Second Round of The Wyndham Championship (Par 70) -15: Carl Pettersson 64 61 -12: Garrett Willis 64 64 -11: Scott McCarron 65 64 -10: Kevin Streelman 66 64 -9: Tim Clark 64 67, Bob Sowards 65 66, Jerry Kelly 66 65 -8: Robert Garrigus 66 66, John Senden (Australia) 66 66, John Riegger 67 65, Mark Hensby (Australia) 66 66 -7: Michael Letzig 67 66, Steve Marino 65 68, Charles Warren 65 68, David Lutterus (Australia) 69 64, Bo Van Pelt 67 66, Lee Janzen 67 66 Also: -6: Danny Lee (New Zealand) 68 66 -5: Tim Wilkinson (New Zealand) 66 69 -3: Tim Flanagan (Australia) 68 69, Peter Lonard (Australia) 66 71 -2: Matt Jones (Australia) 68 70 +1: Jason Day (Australia) 71 70 +2: Matthew Goggin (Australia) 68 74 +3: Steve Allan (Australia) 71 72, Brett Rumford (Australia) 68 75 +4: Andrew Buckle (Australia) 70 74, Gavin Coles (Australia) 71 73 +9: Nathan Green (Australia) 71 78