FORT WORTH, Texas -- Rod Pampling spent plenty of time in the sand during the second round of the Bank of America Colonial on Friday. So what was he doing from there?

"Making pars," Pampling quipped after his career-best 7-under 63.

And even a couple of birdies.

Pampling was 5-for-5 in sand saves, including his last two holes, to get to 10-under 130 and a stroke ahead of first-round leader Stewart Cink (67), Stephen Ames (66) and PGA TOUR rookie Charley Hoffman (66).

"Ball striking-wise, I don't think it was one of my better rounds," Pampling said. "But it was right up there in controlling myself and controlling my emotions. I didn't get flustered."

On his closing hole, the 408-yard ninth, Pampling hit his tee shot into a left fairway bunker and his approach over the green into more sand before blasting to 6 feet. At the par-3 eighth, the Australian hit a greenside bunker and saved par with an 11-foot putt.

Tim Herron (65), Peter Lonard (66) and Dean Wilson (65) were two strokes back at 132.

"I'm glad I'm in contention," Herron said. "Besides the Kenny Perrys, it's always been a close Colonial. It depends on if Kenny Perry goes off."

Perry, the defending champion, was six strokes off the lead after five birdies and five bogeys in a round of 70. Perry had record 19-under totals in 2003 and 2005 at the Bank of America Colonial to win by wide margins.

Fredrik Jacobson matched his career best with a 62, a bogey-free round that was the best of the day. He joined Jim Furyk (67), Arron Oberholser (68), Richard Johnson (65) and Henrik Bjornstad (64) at 7 under.

Two-time Bank of America Colonial champion Ben Crenshaw, the 54-year-old who returned as part of the tournament's 60th anniversary, made the cut with a 67 that got him to even par. There were 77 players who made the cut, 1-over 141 for the third time in four years.

Pampling started with three straight birdies, including the first sand save at the 611-yard No. 11 when his approach after a 327-yard drive landed in a greenside bunker. He blasted to 6 feet and made the birdie.

At the 188-yard 16th, Pampling put his drive into the back of another bunker, saving par from the awkward position when he hit to less than 10 feet.

"That was a big par putt to keep things going," said Pampling, who won at Bay Hill in March. "As long as I keep making them, the momentum keeps going. You start feeling confident that if you miss a green, you can get it up and down."

Such as the par-5, 563-yard No. 1 hole, where Pampling's approach was in a bunker to the left of the green. The 36-year-old Australian hit from there to less than 4 feet for another birdie.

Ames used to worry about mechanics, believing it took the perfect swing to be on the PGA TOUR. Now he focuses on seeing and playing shots, an approach that works well at the old-style 7,054-yard Colonial layout.

"When I'm shaping the ball or seeing shot beforehand, my mechanics come quicker that way," said the 42-year-old Ames, who in March won THE PLAYERS Championship by six strokes. "Rather than trying to fit into the mold, I would rather try to just let it happen and feel it into the mold."

After not practicing during a week off at home in Canada, Ames opened with a 65 at Colonial. But he was at 7 under in the first round before three bogeys in a late five-hole stretch. He was bogey-free on Friday.

Rod Pampling made eight birdies on Friday. (Feldman/WireImage)

Lonard hit only five fairways but 15 greens in his bogey-free round. "I don't think I did it in the textbook way," he said.

Furyk didn't have any more birdies after four in his first six holes. The No. 5 player in the world ranking had his only bogey at the 252-yard No. 4, when he hit a 3-iron right of the green and missed the par putt after pitching to 6 feet.

"Got to 4 under real quick in the day, then turned to the second side, and not many went in," Furyk said. "I'm pretty happy with my game as a whole."

The highest-ranked player in the Bank of America Colonial field, Furyk won at the Wachovia Championship and had three other top-10 finishes before missing the cut last week in the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.

Wilson was a rookie in 2003 when he played in the same group at Colonial with Annika Sorenstam, the first woman in 58 years to play on the PGA TOUR. Wilson had three top-10 finishes this year, and this week is his best score after the first two rounds of a tournament.

"In here actually after playing golf, that is a good thing," Wilson said after his round.

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