Morning starters averaged 75.55, more than two shots worse than the players that started later.
Briton Ian Poulter (72), Swede Richard S. Johnson (71) and American Steve Stricker (70) were tied on 139, five strokes off the pace.
Seventy-seven players made the cut of five-over-par 147, matching the Arnold Palmer Invitational as the season’s highest 36-hole cut in relation to par.
Among those missing the cut were holder Vijay Singh (150), Masters champion Angel Cabrera (152) and US Open winner Lucas Glover, who played without a driver for 11 holes while waiting for a replacement for the one he cracked in practice on Thursday.
Glover shot 81 for 156.
Twice former US Open winner Ernie Els moved into contention with the help of an eagle on the short par-four 16th. He shot 68 to finish on 140.
Because of more rain forecast yesterday, players were scheduled to go off in threesomes from both tees for the third round.
JOHNNIE WALKER
AP, GLENEAGLES, Scotland
Paul Lawrie shot a second successive bogey-free round on Friday, a 3-under 69, for a two-stroke halfway lead in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
The 1999 British Open champion had six birdies and an eagle without dropping a shot in 36 holes and is two ahead of Jonathan Caldwell, a 24-year-old Northern Irishman who shot a 6-under 66, Dutchman Maarten Lafeber (67) and Daniel Vancsik (69) of Argentina.
Vancsik missed a two-foot birdie putt at the last that would have given him a share of second place.
Jose Maria Olazabal birdied the 18th for a 68 that included birdies on five of his first six holes. He shares third place on 5-under 139 with Soren Hansen, the Danish Ryder Cup player who carded a 70, Gregory Bourdy (68) of France and Shiv Kapur (70) of India.
Slumping European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie needed a big improvement after an opening 76 to avoid missing a fourth successive halfway cut for the first time in his career.
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