Harold Varner III and Adri Arnaus carded matching 66s to reach 10-under 130 and secure a share the halftime lead at the Saudi International.
“It wasn’t blowing as hard this morning, so just trying to hang in there and just give myself a chance,” said Varner in a statement.
“I think you’ve got to drive it really well here. It’s forgiving off the tee, but when blowing, the lines get a little bit tighter, and you’ve just got to keep hitting good shots.”
Cameron Smith (66) and Matt Wolff (67) were tied for third on 8 under, one clear of Tommy Fleetwood (67) who was solo fifth on 7 under.
First-round leader Matteo Manassero struggled to a 3-over 73 and tumbled to T9 on 5 under, alongside Xander Schauffele (68) and Patrick Reed (69), among others.
Defending champion Dustin Johnson shot 1-over 71 and fell into a tie for 14th alongside Pablo Larrazabal (68) , Phil Mickelson (69) and Tyrrell Hatton (69).
Graeme McDowell, the 2020 Saudi winner, will miss the weekend after shooting two rounds of 73.
Saudi International Leaderboard
Top-10: Round Two
Pos-Player-Score (Rd 2)
1. Harold Varner III -10 (-4)
1. Adri Arnaus -10 (-4)
3. Cameron Smith -8 (-4)
3. Matt Wolff -8 (-3)
5. Tommy Fleetwood -7 (-3)
6. Ryosuke Kinoshita -6 (E)
6. JC Ritchie -6 (-4)
6. Bubba Watson -6 (E)
9. Wade Ormsby -5 (-3)
9. Steve Lewton -5 (-3)
9. Xander Schauffele -5 (-2)
9. Patrick Reed -5 (-1)
9. Matteo Manassero -5 (+3)
