Bryce Molder had his career-best round and the lead midway through the Colonial Invitational, where four-time All-Americans Phil Mickelson and David Duval missed the cut Friday.
Molder shot an 8-under 62 to get to 13 under 127 after two rounds, one shot ahead of first-round co-leader Jason Bohn (65). Kris Blanks (64) and Brian Davis (65) were two strokes back, one ahead of Boo Weekley (63) and Jeff Overton (67).
Molder, a 31-year-old who has split time between the PGA and Nationwide tours since his professional debut in 2002, was one stroke off matching the course record of 61 after missing an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole.
``I read it correctly, lined it up correctly, felt like I was playing too much break, and I just let myself pull it, instead of just trusting my line,'' Molder said. ``But you certainly get a little bit of excitement when you start shooting a low score.''
Mickelson would have overtaken Tiger Woods for the No. 1 spot in the world ranking with a win at Colonial, but instead had consecutive over-par rounds. He shot a 73 on Friday, when he had consecutive bogeys early and then three more in a row after his last birdie, to finish 4 over on the course where he won in last appearance two years ago.
Duval was 1 over after a round of 73.
After two days of ideal scoring conditions with hot temperatures and nearly no wind, 76 players made the cut at a tournament record-low 2 under. There were 19 other players who broke par or were even and will not play this weekend.
While Molder has been bothered by a sore throat, Bohn stayed near the top of the leaderboard despite an inner-ear infection that has made it impossible to hear anything through his left ear while affecting his equilibrium since the tournament started.
``I noticed going up and down, standing up and down, that I got dizzy a few times,'' Bohn said. ``I don't know whether it was my ear or the heat or a combination of the both. I kind of had to slow it down a little bit out there. I was really cautious.''
Davis had a bogey-free 65 Friday, when his face was still swollen because of an abscess inside his mouth that he had treated by a doctor after his opening 64. His concentration apparently wasn't affected by the medications he is taking to ease the pain.
``I might just keep taking them all year if this carries on,'' Davis said, with a smile.
Since losing in a playoff to Jim Furyk at Hilton Head, when the Englishman who has never won on the PGA Tour called a two-stroke penalty on himself, Davis missed the cut in his past three tournaments.
Mickelson won't be at Hogan's Alley for the Colonial's second ``Pink Out'' on Saturday, when most players along with PGA Tour and tournament officials are expected to wear pink to support a breast cancer charity.
The first ``Pink Out'' was held last year when Mickelson wasn't at Colonial to defend his 2008 title soon after finding out that his wife, Amy, had breast cancer. A few weeks after that, Mickelson found out that his mother also had breast cancer.
``Although I will not be here to partake in it, I will be wearing pink tomorrow,'' Mickelson said before going home to San Diego to be with Amy, whose birthday is Monday, and their three children.
