Scottsdale, AZ (Best E Casino) - Arron Oberholser fired a six-under-par 64 on Friday to move atop the leaderboard after two rounds of the Frys.com Open.
Oberholser finished 36 holes at 11-under 129 and is one clear at Grayhawk Golf Club.
Steve Allan posted a seven-under 63 on Friday and is alone in second at minus-10, which is one shot better than Brad Elder and George McNeill, who both carded matching rounds of 63 in round two.
First-round co-leader John Mallinger managed a one-under 69 and is tied for fifth place with Mathew Goggin (63), Paul Goydos (62) and Robert Garrigus (66). The group came in at eight-under 132.
They are all staring up at Oberholser, a winner in 2006, who has been plagued by wrist injuries for almost two seasons. To make this second-round lead even more impressive, Oberholser is competing for only the second time since early July.
"I'm coming out here with a fresh look and a fresh start, and getting into the tournament rhythm of things takes some time," said Oberholser. "Obviously there's two more rounds to go, but I like the position I'm sitting in without a doubt."
Oberholser broke into red figures for the first time with a six-foot birdie putt at the second. He made it two in a row after an eight-iron approach landed 15 feet from the stick.
After a par at four, Oberholser birdied the fifth and drained a 20-footer for birdie at six. He dropped a shot at the eighth after he hit a "poor swing" but still made the turn in 32.
Oberholser flew out of the gate on the back nine. He hit a pitching-wedge to six feet to set up birdie at 10, then played a pitching-wedge inside a foot for a birdie at the par-five 11th.
After another "poor swing" that led to bogey at 13, Oberholser recovered the lost stroke with a five-foot birdie putt at No. 14. He parred the next two, but a 25-foot birdie putt at the 17th gave Oberholser the lead.
Oberholser suffered a bit of a hiccup on his way to sole possession of the second-round lead. At the last, he landed in a greenside bunker, but blasted out to seven feet.
Oberholser sank that par save to take at least a piece of the second-round lead for the third time on the PGA Tour and first since last year's Wachovia Championship.
"Today I got into a good rhythm off the start and started striking the ball well from tee one, and really just hit a couple wayward irons," said Oberholser. "My driver was really good today. Irons were very solid. It was all the ingredients you need to shoot a 64."
Mathias Gronberg (68), 1995 PGA Champion Steve Elkington (67), Sean O'Hair (65), Kevin Sutherland (66) and Billy Mayfair share ninth place at seven-under 133.
Defending champion Mike Weir is certainly in the hunt for a successful defense. The former Masters champion shot a two-under 68 on Friday and is tied for 14th at minus-six.
Doug LaBelle II, who shared the overnight lead with Mallinger, struggled to a two-over 72 in the second round and fell into a tie for 21st at five-under 135.
The 36-hole cut fell at one-under 139, and among the notable players to miss the weekend were Notah Begay III (140), Ryan Moore (141) and Jesper Parnevik (145).
