Wide open in Atlanta

On an American-dominated leaderboard, unheralded pair Jason Dufner and Keegan Bradley emerged as the halfway leaders on five-under par but just five shots cover the top 25 players with two rounds to go.

That bunch includes world number two Lee Westwood, who played himself into contention with a two-under 68, while only three of the 25 have won majors before - Jim Furyk (-4), Davis Love (-1) and Trevor Immelman (Even).

Furyk, the 2003 US Open champ, is just a shot back alongside fellow Americans Scott Verplank and DA Points along with Aussie John Senden.

Denmark's Anders Hansen, at three-under, is the leading European but most eyes will be on Westwood who started the day eight shots back but ended it just four off the pace.

The Worksop golfer looked exhausted as he finished another slow and hot round, but when asked about the speed of play quipped: "The last thing I wanted today was to move quicker!"

Satisfied

Westwood had also been in the water on the 457-yard 11th, his second, but got out of it with a bogey and was very satisfied with his day's work in the end.

He had teed off on Thursday with Stricker having already posted his 63.

"When you see seven under is leading you are under pressure," Westwood said.

"But I said at the start of the week that I thought six under was going to win and it might still."

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy was left wishing he could have one shot again after a second round 73, but it was not the stroke you probably think.

Rather than the moment he injured his right arm against a tree root on day one, it was his six-iron tee shot to the short 17th on his return.

Suffering from a strained tendon and thankfully nothing more serious, the 22-year-old US Open champion, his arm still bandaged, had moved only two strokes off third place when he came to his eighth hole of the day.

It came up short in the lake and by three-putting for a triple-bogey six, McIlroy's hopes of a second major title this season suffered a huge blow.

"Even with a broken wrist I should be putting better than this," he said.

On the shot that had damaged his arm, meanwhile, McIlroy commented: "Hindsight is a great thing, but looking back it was a mistake in judgment. I thought I would be able to get away with it."

The world number four was also asked if caddie JP Fitzgerald should have prevented him from hitting the shot.

"He's my caddie, not my father!" he replied.

Luke Donald is far from out of it at one-over but admitted he was glad to get away with a 71 in round two after being below his best from tee to green.

As for Woods, the former world number one, who needed a top-14 finish to make the FedEx Cup play-offs starting later this month, was not even in the top 114 when he added a 73 to his error-strewn opening 77.

It is just the third time in 56 majors as a professional he has missed the halfway cut. He did have two rounds of 76 in the 2006 US Open, which came shortly after his father's death, but his finishing position there was only 82nd.

When Woods followed a six on the 457-yard 11th with a seven at the 551-yard next, it was the first time in his professional career he had recorded five double bogeys in a tournament.

Phil Mickelson was also left to rue a double bogey - his six at the tough final hole dropping him back to one over par after teeing off at one under.

American Gary Woodland had an even bigger blowout there as a triple bogey seven saw him fall from three under to evens.

Low round

Dufner was the first to post five-under after five birdies and an eagle helped him to a 65 and he was joined later by Bradley who posted the low round of the day, a bogey-free six-under 64.

Steve Stricker had started the day two shots clear after his superb opening 63 but he was 11 shots worse in round two and a bogey at the last after finding water saw him end the day two back.

Verplank also held a two-shot lead at one point on the back nine but dropped shots at 14 and 16 to fall back into tied third.

Last week's WGC-Bridgestone winner, Adam Scott, held a share of the lead early in his round but he was another victim of the long 18th, his double bogey there meaning he finished at one-under.

The cut fell at four over, meaning defending champion Martin Kaymer didn't make it into the weekend.