Tommy Gainey walks off after completing his second round 65 at the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina to lead by three shots.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Tommy Gainey leads at halfway stage of Wyndham Championship
- Gainey cards a second round 65 to follow his opening seven-under 63
- South African Ernie Els in four-strong chasing group on nine-under
- Els, Camilo Villegas and Padraig Harrington battling for FedEx Cup playoffs spots
(CNN) -- American Tommy Gainey led by three shots at the halfway stage of the Wyndham Championship at Greater Greensboro with South African star Ernie Els in the four-strong chasing group.
Gainey carded a five-under par 65 Friday for a 12-under total of 128, with Els sharing second on nine-under with Australian Stewart Appleby, Daniel Summerhays and Webb Simpson.
Els is battling for a tournament win but also to clinch his place in the lucrative FedEx Cup playoffs which start next week.
He is currently 126th in the standings, with only the top 125 to qualify so three birdies in five holes on his back nine on the way to a 66 helped his cause.
"I've got quite a large goal for me this week, and you know, I'm feeling like, fine, my game is turning around a little bit," Els told the official PGA Tour website.
I've got quite a large goal for me this week, and you know, I'm feeling like, fine, my game is turning around a little bit
--Ernie Els
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Four players shared sixth on 132, Jim Furyk (67), Brazil's Alexandre Rocha (66), England's Paul Casey (67) and South African Retief Goosen (65).
Gainey, who is chasing his first win on the PGA Tour, was still not satisfied as he followed his opening 63 with a 65.
"I hit it worse today than I did yesterday off the tee. I hit my irons worse than I did yesterday," he said.
But only the remarkable 125 of Sweden's Carl Pettersson in 2008 has bettered Gainey's score on the par-70 Sedgefield course.
Colombian Camilo Villegas, 125th on the FedEx list, went a long way to wrapping up his place at The Barclays next week with a 64 for 134.
But three-time major champion Padraig Harrington of Ireland, 130th in the rankings, has work to do as he birdied two of his last four holes for a 68 to make the cut at three-under 137.
Defending Wyndham champion Arjun Atwal of India will not be playing the weekend after missing the cut, while joint first round leader Jeff Quinney carded a level-par 70 to fall five behind Gainey.
