After rookie Rich Beem made two splendid birdies to take an improbable lead at the Kemper Open, his girlfriend craned her neck to look at the leaderboard and flashed a big smile.

Three shots later, Beem botched two shots in a row, was deep in the rough on No. 6 and on the way to losing the lead. Amy Onick's smile was gone, but the faith was still there.

"He's got the strongest focus of anyone I know, sometimes irritatingly," said Onick, who flew in from their hometown of El Paso, Texas, Thursday night after Beem had taken the first-round lead. "He's not going let this bother him."

She was right. After a double-bogey at No. 7, Beem proved he's not a one-day wonder by coming back with five more birdies -- plus another bogey -- in a yo-yo 4-under 67 Friday to take a three-stroke lead after two rounds in by far his best-ever run in a PGA Tour event.

"My focus can be quite strong sometimes. She yells at me because I'll be watching TV and just zone her out," Beem said.

"On the golf course, this is my first experience with having a lot of people watching, and I know the cameras are going to be out there and it's going to be a little different having all those sets of eyes on me. But I think I'm strong enough to zone most of that out.

"I'll certainly find that out (Saturday) for the first time in my life. But I believe in myself and I believe I have the will and the strength to do that."

Beem's 133 total at the TPC at Avenel course gave him a three-stroke lead over Bradley Hughes, Tommy Armour III and Dave Stockton Jr. Stockton had a second-round 66, while Hughes and Armour both had 68s.

Two-time Kemper Open champion Bill Glasson, who had a 70, and Jim Carter, 69, were another stroke back. Corey Pavin and former champions Steve Stricker and Stuart Appleby were among those below par for the tournament, although well off the lead.

Until this year, the highlights of Beem's professional career came in minor tournaments in the Sun Country PGA Section in New Mexico and west Texas. He qualified for the PGA Tour by finishing ninth at last year's qualifying school, but missed the cut in seven of his first 11 events and hadn't placed higher than a tie for 45th at the Buick Invitational in February.

He admitted to a case of nerves as he shot a 66 to take the first-round lead, but it didn't show when he birdied No. 1 Friday and then pumped his right fist after making a downhill 55-foot putt at No. 4. He used the wedge at the short par-4 5th to get to two inches for a birdie that got him to 8 under.

Then the gallery swelled, following the hot golfer. There was a 10-minute delay in the 6th fairway as Beem's group waited for the group ahead to finish. Beem recognised a former team-mate from the New Mexico State University golf team and chatted with him to pass the time.

When Beem finally hit again, he clipped some leaves on a high branch trying to reach the green of the par-5 hole in two and landed in deep rough near a creek. His next shot was worse, landing closer to the creek. He eventually salvaged a bogey, then double-bogeyed the next hole when he three-putted after a bad choice of club led to an approach that landed on the slope of a trap.

"Walking back to the tee box at No. 8, I was kind of discouraged. I thought I got a couple of bad breaks on those two holes," Beem said. "Hats off to my caddie Steve (Duplantis) for helping me keep my focus and keep my head on straight. He just kind of kept my spirits up and we kept rolling."

A seven-footer for par at No. 8 and a string of pars settled Beem, who added four birdies and a bogey on the back nine. A 25-foot putt for birdie at 17 put him back at 8 under, and a 20-footer at 18 capped the round.

"What can I say? My putter's working," Beem said.

Like Beem, the others on the leaderboard are surprises.

Armour's only PGA Tour victory came nine years ago. Stockton engages in a yearly struggle just to stay on the tour. Hughes' only victories have come in Australia.

Glasson won this tournament in 1985 and 1992, but a run of injuries has hampered his game. Surgeries on both elbows left him unable to try to reach the green after his tee shot landed in the right rough at No. 12, leading to a bogey after he had reached 8 under on the previous hole.

As for Beem, he said he wasn't as nervous as he thought he'd be. Then again, he hasn't started thinking about what it will be like if he's playing in the final group Sunday.

"I could probably lie in bed and dream about it," Beem said. "But I'm having too much fun being in the moment."