Stephen Leaney is four shots off the pace at the halfway mark of the Verizon Heritage after a three-under round of 68. Leaney had a poor start to the round, opening with a bogey but got the stroke back immediately with a birdie on the par five second. But the Aussie&aposs up and down round continued as he went birdie, bogey, birdie on the fifth, sixth then seventh respectively. A double on the eighth and a birdie on the ninth saw Leaney go to the turn on par but a steadier back nine, which included birdies on 10, 12 and 15, ensured he stayed in touch with the leaders heading into the penultimate round on eight under. South African Ernie Els is the outright leader after 36 holes at 12 under the card and has a three-stroke lead over American Jerry Kelly. Els fired a scintillating, blemish-free round which included six birdies to put himself in a strong position heading into the third round. Overnight leader Kelly struggled after a sensational 63 on day one, produce a one-under 70 which included five birdies and four bogeys. Despite a solid four-under 67, Rod Pampling will need to produce something special in the remaining two rounds if he is to reel in the leaders. Pampling is in a share of fifth with compatriot Aaron Baddeley but the pair sits six shots adrift of Els. Nathan Green has stayed in touch with the leaders after a five under round of 66 while Peter Lonard is three shots further back on two under after firing a 70. Results from the second round of the Verizon Heritage -12 Ernie Els 65 65 -9 Jerry Kelly 63 70 -8 Fred Funk 67 67, Stephen Leaney (Australia) 66 68 -7 Sean O&aposHair 69 66, Kevin Na 67 68 -6 Rod Pampling (Australia) 69 67, Aaron Baddeley (Australia) 70 66, Boo Weekley 67 69 -5 Vaughn Taylor 71 66, Nathan Green (Australia) 71 66, Dean Wilson 69 68 -4 Brandt Snedeker 71 67, Ken Duke 71 67, Bo Van Pelt 71 67, Ben Crane 71 67 Also: -2 Peter Lonard (Australia) 70 70, Nick O&aposHern (Australia) 69 71 -1 Mark Hensby (Australia) 71 70 E Steve Elkington (Australia) 71 71 +1 Matthew Goggin (Australia) 76 67, Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) 70 73