Bo Van Pelt takes lead with record round - Wachovia Championship 2006

Van Pelt was on fire Friday, figuratively if not literally, as he plundered Quail Hollow for nine birdies to match the course record with a brilliant 8-under-par 64 in the second round at the $6 million Wachovia Championship.

"I hit a bunch of fairways and a bunch of greens but birdieing three of the par 3s, that's what took a good round to a really good round," he said after posting a 10-under 134 halfway total, three shots better than his closest pursuer, Jim Furyk (69).

Davis Love (69) was four shots back, while Vijay Singh and Bill Haas trailed by five. Singh carded 68, while Haas completed only eight holes. He was among half the field who did not finish the round before thunderstorms halted play for the day, with competition scheduled to resume Saturday at 7:30 am EDT.

Van Pelt, 30, has not won in 131 starts on the PGA Tour, but he has quietly compiled more than $3 million in prize money. Two years ago he finished 39th on the PGA Tour money list, and last year was 51st, with six top-10 finishes to his credit, including a tie for third at the prestigious Memorial tournament.

Despite being on a course that demands strategy and shotmaking, Van Pelt has felt comfortable due to past experience.

"I grew up on an old-style course (in Indiana), a lot shorter than this but very similar, a lot of doglegs with real fast greens that had a lot of break on them, so I feel comfortable here," he said.

"I don't mind shaping it. It doesn't bother me to hit a hook or a cut. I've been driving the ball really well and I wanted to challenge myself to see how low I could shoot. I kept reminding myself to try to birdie every hole coming in."

Van Pelt was out of his depth in his rookie season on tour in 1999, finishing 210th on the money list, but he at least learned where he had to improve to compete with the big boys, and decided he had to improve everywhere.

"I wasn't ready at all," he admitted. "I had no chance and got my head beat in. I couldn't keep it on the planet and my short game wasn't good enough, but it was good for me, because I got to learn what it took to be out here.

"I had to go back to the (secondary) tour and work on my game. One thing the great players do when they're playing well is, they're not satisfied. When they get playing good, they shoot really low."

Furyk, meanwhile, hasn't taken long to dust off the cobwebs after a two-week break. He finished second at the Heritage in his most recent start, and quickly found his way back onto the leaderboard.

"I felt a little rusty earlier in the week (but) I drove the ball very, very well today," he said. "I had a little more control of my game, hit my irons better."

Furyk left a little bit of money on the table, bogeying the difficult 16th and 17th holes. He hit a poor approach shot into a bunker at the par-4 16th, and three-putted the par-3 17th from 50 feet.

"I'm disappointed," he admitted. "I should have played those holes better but at least I sucked it up on 18 and hit my best drive of the day. If I'd walked off 18 with another bogey, I probably wouldn't be in as good a mood as I am right now."

Love has been missing in action since finishing second at the WGC Match Play Championship in February, but you can't keep a good man down forever, and a second straight 69 was enough to get into contention.

"I think I've been trying too hard," he said. "The last two days I had fun and enjoyed myself and got into playing golf. That's the difference when I'm playing good and playing bad. When I'm doing well, I'm just out there playing. When I'm playing bad, I'm trying to make the Ryder Cup team or win the Masters and putting too much pressure on myself."