John Huston shot a second consecutive 6-under 66 on Friday to take the second-round lead in the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro.
Huston was at 12-under 132, one shot better than K.J. Choi (69) and two in front of Justin Rose (65) and D.J. Trahan (69).
With another perfect day for scoring at Forest Oaks, the 36-hole cut came in at 3 under.
"I like when scoring conditions are good and the weather's good," Huston said. "I think you just kind of tee off and see what the course gives you, hopefully take advantage of it."
Sergio Garcia had another 69 and was tied for 17th, with US Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman another shot back after a 70. Adam Scott made it to the weekend on the number after a 68.
Huston has seven US PGA Tour victories during his 18-year career, and the most recent one came two years ago at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic. His previous three titles have come in October, so it might be time for another.
"Hopefully. It hasn't been a very good year," Huston said.
To try to make the most of it, he has played in 13 of the past 14 tournaments, taking off only one week since Westchester in June. The quality of his game picked up during the run -- he has earned all but US$42,000 of his US$522,478 during that span.
Still, Huston sits 127th on the money list, two spots away from the coveted top 125. He already used his one-time exemption for being in the top 50 all-time, so he must play his way into status for 2006.
"I guess I decided I wasn't ready to give up on the game yet," Huston said. "So I just decided the best way to go about getting myself back into a better position would be to just start playing every week."
First-round leader Charles Warren, who tied the course record with a 62 on Thursday, ballooned to a 74 after a rough stretch on the back nine. He made the turn at 3 under for the day and cruising, then bogeyed three of the first five holes coming in.
After two more bogeys at 16 and 17, Warren had a whopping 41. At least he made it to the weekend, which he hasn't done 13 of his past 15 starts.
Rose used a string four consecutive birdies to start the back and added another on the 18th to complete his day. With the season winding down, he's hoping to get his first victory in the US to go with four others around the world.
Wendy Ward, Nicole Perrot of Chile, Karine Icher of France and Han Hee-won of South Korea each shot opening rounds of 6-under 65, and took the lead in the LPGA Office Depot Championship.
The quartet was one shot better than Natalie Gulbis, Jennifer Rosales and Gloria Park of South Korea.
Rookie Paula Creamer and British Open champion Jeong Jang were in a five-way tie for third at 67.
Two-time defending champion Annika Sorenstam was four back after a 69 that included four birdies and bogeys on Nos. 5 and 10, both par 4s.
Three groups were timed for slow play during the round that took some players six hours to complete because of numerous rulings. Darkness stranded a handful of players, who will finish the first round Saturday.
Ward, who earned her third career victory at Las Vegas in April, lost all three of her matches at the Solheim Cup, when the US defeated Europe 2 weeks ago.
"I'm hitting the ball so well, and I'm not being arrogant with that at all," she said. "I hit the ball well at Solheim Cup and was disappointed to not get a point out of that. I couldn't get the putts and chips to come together for me, so it never ceases that it comes another week later."
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