Phil Mickelson found himself alone atop the leaderboard in the PGA Championship today when two early birdies moved him to six-under as he reached the turn.
Another birdie at the par-five fifth, his 14th hole, took him to seven-under and one ahead of South Korea's KJ Choi, the early clubhouse leader, and Jim Furyk.
It was a stunning performance by the 30-year-old Choi, who had a rollercoaster round. Starting at four-under he began bogey, bogey, then dropped another shot two holes later and off the leaderboard.
But Choi clawed his way back and three birdies in the homeward nine helped to be the early second round leader.
"Very nice, I'm happy," said Choi.
Surprise overnight leader Grant Waite of New Zealand slipped back by the time he reached the turn, dropping two shots at the punishing 17 and 18th holes - his eighth and ninth.
American Chris DiMarco, who is on the borderline of getting on to the United States Ryder Cup team, quickly launched his bid to win his way onto the team with four birdies in 10 holes to move from two-under to five-under.
But DiMarco insisted he was not concerned about the Ryder Cup.
"I'm trying not to get ahead of myself. I have put myself where I want to be and even if someone shoots a low score in the afternoon I am still well placed," said the American.
Spanish sensation Sergio Garcia, who finished second in the championship two years ago, found himself slipping away. The 21-year-old had started the two-under par but disaster quickly struck. By the time he reached the turn, Garcia had slipped to over par thanks to two bogeys and a double. He dropped another as he began the inward nine and almost certainly putting paid to his championship dreams.
Also struggling was Colin Montgomerie, who like Mickelson is looking for his first major title. The burly Scot dropped three shots in seven holes and flirted with the possibility of missing the cut. But Montgomerie finally got a grip on his game and three birdies after six holes on his inward nine appeared to have booked him his place for the weekend.
Paul McGinley has just teed off his second round and the Dubliner currently sits at two under par. McGinley has fared somewhat better on the Atlanta fairways than Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington, both of whom have yet to start their second rounds. Clarke is on three over with Harrington two shots further back.