A surprised Australian Scott Gardiner fired a bogey-free 67 on Friday to be joint second – one shot ahead of countryman Rod Pampling – at the halfway mark of the US PGA Wells Fargo Championship.
Three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson shot a five-under-par 67 to seize a two-stroke lead with a nine-under two-round total of 135.
Gardiner shared second place on 137 with Americans Nick Watney and George McNeill with world No.2 Rory McIlroy among five others sharing fifth place, three strokes off the pace.
McIlroy, one of seven co-leaders after day one, was level with Pampling, England’s Lee Westwood and Americans Jason Kokrak and Derek Ernst.
Gardiner, of Aboriginal heritage, put himself in the final pairing with a sizzling start, opening with a birdie and then adding four in a row to conclude the front nine, the last a seven-foot birdie putt before missing a 16-foot birdie bid at the 10th.
“Probably nobody is more surprised than I am,” Gardiner said. “I just haven’t been putting it together. I’ve putted poorly all year, haven’t really saved any shots around the greens.
“It’s just nice to get a few birdies and save a few pars because, when I have been giving myself opportunities, I haven’t been taking them.”
Fellow Australian Stuart Appleby is seven shots off the lead on 142 after back-to-back rounds of 71.
Mickelson opened with a 14-foot birdie putt on his way to back-to-back birdies at Quail Hollow.
“I got off to a good start so that set a good tone for the round,” Mickelson said. “I really am excited about the way I’m hitting it off the tee. If I drive it well this weekend, it’s going to be a fun weekend. And I fully expect to.”
Mickelson also birdied the par-5 seventh and the ninth before taking his lone bogey at the 12th, which he answered with birdies at the 14th and par-5 15th to move top of the leaderboard.
Mickelson, who finished second behind McIlroy at Quail Hollow in 2010, likes his chances to win an elusive first US Open title next month at Merion after five runner-up efforts.
“I would love nothing more than to win a US Open,” Mickelson said. “Finishing second five times and not ever winning it would be a huge disappointment and I think Merion is going to be a good opportunity for me because it’s not necessary to hit drivers off a lot of holes.”
Northern Ireland’s McIlroy was on 138 after a second-round 71. He began and ended his first nine holes with bogeys, but responded with birdies at the first and fourth and made another at the eighth.
“I hit the ball really well again and gave myself a lot of opportunities,” McIlroy said. “I actually played pretty well on the back side. I gave myself plenty of chances. I just didn’t take any of them.”
McIlroy, in his first event since sharing 25th at the Masters, has big expectations for the next few months, including a title defence at the PGA Championship in August at Oak Hill as well as next month’s US Open and the British Open in July.
“I’m comfortable with my game,” McIlroy said. “I feel good. I’m looking forward to a big summer coming up.”
