The three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson has fired a five-under-par 67 to seize a two-stroke lead at the latest PGA event in North Carolina .
Mickelson is nine under par with a two-round total of 135.
A surprised Australian Scott Gardiner fired a bogey-free 67 in the second round to be joint second - one shot ahead of countryman Rod Pampling.
Gardiner shares second place on 137 with Americans Nick Watney and George McNeill with world number two Rory McIlroy among five others sharing fifth place, three strokes off the lead.
Gardiner, of Aboriginal heritage, put himself in the final pairing with a sizzling start, opening with a birdie and then adding four in a row to conclude the front nine.
