Bo Van Pelt opened up a two-shot lead at the halfway point of the Buick Open after a second round of 66.
Hart and Chopra lead the chasing pack in Michigan
Bo Van Pelt opened up a two-shot lead at the halfway point of the Buick Open after a second round of 66 at the Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club.
Van Pelt, who is still awaiting his first PGA Tour title after some 196 starts, is yet to drop a shot this week after following his flawless opening 64 with another bogey-free effort on Friday.
The American journeyman now stands at 14-under-par, two shots clear of compatriot Dudley Hart and Swede Daniel Chopra and who carded second rounds of 68 and 67 respectively.
Woody Austin is a further shot off the pace at 11-under and has been joined by unheralded Australian Matt Jones who produced two eagles on his way to a sensational best-of-the-week 63.
However, it is Van Pelt who leads the way although the 33-year-old is not getting carried away by his advantage just yet.
He came agonisingly close to breaking his title duck earlier this year at the Puerto Rico Open where he led from the opening holes only to miss out late on by a single stroke to Greg Kraft.
However, Van Pelt feels that experience could prove beneficial this week, stating: "It was good to have the lead for that long. I think I had the lead from the first few holes the first day and I had never done that as a pro.
Comfortable
"I just learned to be comfortable with it, and I think the biggest thing I took from it was that I was playing really well the first three days.
"I probably should have had a bigger lead and kind of let a few get away.
"That's the thing, you play four days, it's hard to play good all four days," said Van Pelt. "Somebody usually gets hot on a Sunday.
"I felt like in Puerto Rico, I had stretches where I put the ball in position to go lower to where Sunday would have been a little bit easier.
"I was going good early, the more I put myself in that position (to win), one of these Sundays is going to be my day."
Corey Pavin, who shared the overnight lead with Van Pelt and Hart, could not maintain his early form and is now some eight shots off the pace after a second round of 74, while Englishman Kennie Ferrie is a further stroke worse off at five-under-par after a 73 on Friday.
