Arjun Atwal leads into the weekend

India's Arjun Atwal overcame Friday's gusting winds to shoot a 4-under 68 and take a one-stroke lead over J.J. Henry after two rounds of the Zurich Classic.

Atwal, looking for his first PGA Tour victory, had six birdies and two bogeys in gusts of up to 25 mph and moved 11-under 133. Henry had a second straight 67 to get to 10-under, and Chris DiMarco, playing in his first event since losing the Masters in a playoff, had a 71 and was tied with Tim Clark (69) another stroke back.

"I didn't hit it too well in the first few holes, when there was no wind,'' Atwal said. "But I got it up and down a few times, just steady stuff. And as the wind started to pick up, I kind of started to focus a little bit better and hit it closer and made a few putts.''

Lucas Glover had a second-round 68 and was at 7-under. Defending champion Vijay Singh followed an opening 67 with a 71 and was in a three-way tie for sixth place at 6-under.

Henry, who was among the late starters Friday, was unfazed by the windy conditions and found the course to his liking.

"It was another kind of stress-free day, to be honest with you,'' Henry said. "I feel real comfortable on this golf course.

"I like the way most of the holes fit. I'm driving the ball well, my ball striking has actually been great for the last couple of weeks, and my putter is finally catching up.''

Henry, whose best finish this season was a tie for 26th at the BellSouth Classic, had six birdies and a bogey.

"This is my fifth year out here and I've put myself in position a couple of times,'' Henry said. "I think I'm finally realizing that living and dying by every shot is not the way to win golf tournaments.''

DiMarco, who was tied for the lead after the first round, had an inconsistent round that included an eagle, four birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey.

At 10-under heading to the par-5 18th, DiMarco hit his tee shot into the water to the right of the fairway and scrambled to make a double-bogey 7.

"I have to give that to lack of knowledge of the golf course,'' DiMarco said. "For some reason, I think that right side that you can get to that far bunker out there. I'm not long enough to get to that bunker. I tried to take a little more off than I can chew. I thought it was going to fly into the bunker and it didn't even get close.''

The event is being is played at the Pete Dye-designed TPC of Louisiana, which replaced English Turn.

DiMarco made bogey at Nos. 6, 9, and 15, but made eagle at the par-5 seventh and had three birdies on the back nine.

"I need a birdie on [No.] 1 tomorrow and I'll be fine,'' DiMarco said. "Every bogey I made today, I made a birdie right after.''

Atwal, playing on a sponsor's exemption, has made 12 cuts in 30 starts and has two top-10 finishes. Last year, he finished in the money in 14 of the 30 events he played.

"You know, our baby was coming along,'' Atwal said. "We had no family in America at the time, so every time I missed a cut or was close to making a cut, I wasn't even thinking about the cut. I was thinking of going back to my wife and taking care of her. As soon as the baby came along, I started doing well again.''

Atwal, who lost in a playoff at the BellSouth Classic, has earned $430,060 in four events.

Divots: Steve Elkington and Kelly Gibson helped design the TPC of Louisiana, but neither will be around for the weekend. Elkington withdrew on Thursday, and Gibson missed the cut after rounds of 74 and 75. ... Danny Ellis was the most improved player in the second round, following an opening 77 with a 66, the lowest round of the day. ... Golfers will tee off in threesomes from Nos. 1 and 10 Saturday because 84 players made the cut.

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