McDowell takes halfway lead at Ballantine's Championship

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JEJU ISLAND, Korea -- Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell finished strongly with the round's best score of eight-under-par 64 to take the halfway lead at the inaugural Ballantine's Championship on Saturday.

McDowell's 12-under-par 132 total left the 28-year old two strokes better than Sweden's Johan Edfors and India's Jeev Milkha Singh, who are both tied for second on 134 after the start of the second round was delayed for almost two hours due to strong winds.

Graeme McDowell had the round's best score at 8-under par. (Heathcote/Getty Images)

Unheralded Kim Hyung-tae of Korea and Ireland's Ryder Cup star, Paul McGinley are a shot further back in joint-fourth position after carding matching 135s at the $2.9 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and Korean PGA.

McDowell took advantage of the calmer weather in the afternoon due to his late start to produce a blemish-free round highlighted by an eagle on the 10th and six birdies.

"We got lucky with the weather this afternoon. It was blowing 30 miles an hour probably when we teed off, so much so that I drove it on the first green, and -- mysteriously -- the wind just dropped. It was amazing!" McDowell said.

"I'm very happy, obviously fortunate and nice to play well and give myself a chance this weekend."

Singh, 2006 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, continued his amazing comeback from a freak accident last week and a flu bug to move up one position to second after finishing his round in near darkness.

"I'm used to playing in such darkness when I'm at home but not the cold! We were running after the 17th as we wanted to tee off on the 18th to make sure we finished our rounds," said Singh.

"I think I had more joy of finishing and finishing the way I did with six under today. I couldn't have asked for better. Now I can enjoy my meal!"

Kim survived the early gusty conditions at the Pinx Golf Club, finishing with a 66 to match McGinley, who had started the day in joint-third after play had resumed.

Kim started the day in tied for 13th and played it safe by going for pars amidst the windy conditions. That strategy paid off for the 30-year-old Korean.

"My caddie and I took very cautious approach in reading the lies and because of the strong winds, I tried to go for pars, but the winds helped me with several birdies chances, resulting in good scores," said a delighted Kim

McGinley, starting on the 10th tee got off to a start he had wanted with an opening birdie but made even pars in his back-nine after that. He only turned on full throttle, firing off four consecutive birdies starting from the fourth hole after the turn to race into contention.

"It's a great start and good position. I'm pleased obviously," said McGinley who did not let the strong winds affect his game today.

"My record over the years in windy conditions has always been quite decent. Although the golf course was windy, it was still yielding chances for birdies," added McGinley who reeled in a total of five birdies.

The marquee names at this week's $2.9 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and Korean PGA did not fail to disappoint.

Fast-rising American sensation Anthony Kim, who already has six top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR in just 17 months as a professional, produced another flawless performance to stay in contention for the title.

The American had initially planned to play it safe, going for pars in his second round today.

However, the strength of his drives presented the 22-year-old Californian with several birdie opportunities instead.

"I was trying to go more for pars than for birdies. But I guess the distance of my tee shots presented me with more birdie opportunities than pars," laughed the big-hitting American.

Korea's sporting icon, Choi Kyung-yu was left to rue several missed birdie chances but still managed to post a 69 to improve on his previous opening score of 71.

"Nothing really went bad today. It was just one of those days where the putts couldn't go in, and I missed a lot of birdie chances," Choi said.

"I think I'm still in a good position for tomorrow, so I'm pretty happy. If I get my putting going, it's going to improve," added the current world No. 5.

Scotland's Sandy Lyle retired due to a wrist injury while Australia's Unho Park and France's Raphael Jacquelin withdrew due to sickness and personal reasons respectively.

A total of 67 players made the halfway cut, which was set at even-par and will tee off the third round at 10:50 a.m. local time.

Leading second round scores: