SEA ISLAND, Georgia, Oct 19, 2012 (AFP) - The Indian, currently 175th on the money list, carded a seven-under par 63 in the second round for a 10-under total of 130 and a one-shot lead over tournament host Davis Love and Jim Furyk.
Love, trying to get past the disappointment of America's Ryder Cup defeat, carded a 66 and Furyk a 65 for 131.
The tournament is the penultimate PGA Tour event that counts toward the money list. The top 125 on the list earn full playing privileges for next season.
"Yeah, I'm in a desperate situation," Atwal said. "I've got no choice to either win or finish in the top two, I think my caddie figured out. So I've just got to grind it out."
Atwal had eight birdies and one bogey. He hit 14 greens in regulation and needed just 25 putts.
His birdie putts included efforts of 17, 13 and 20 feet.
"Oh, it feels great. I don't even know how many I made," said Atwal, who recently changed his grip -- moving his hands higher in order to get over the golf ball better at address.
Love, who captained the US Ryder Cup team that lost the Match Play showdown to Europe last month, used a belly putter to good effect.
"I've been messing around with this putter for well over a year, I just haven't had the nerve to put it in play," Love said. "But I had two pro-ams this week so I said, 'This is the best time -- my home greens, two pro-ams on my home course.' So I tried it out and the first day I used it, I made eight birdies. So it worked."
Love said on the eve of the tournament that he was still shadowed by the Ryder Cup loss -- to a European team that roared back for a final-day triumph.
Furyk, too, is bouncing back in his first tournament since the Ryder Cup.
He is also seeking a first Tour title since 2010, although he has had seven top-10 finishes this season.
"I have a lot of confidence in my ball striking right now, but you know, when you don't play a lot, sometimes it's the course management, making the good decisions," Furyk said. "And so far that's all kind of coming back to me slowly and I've kind of gained momentum as the last two rounds have gone on."
First-round co-leader Bud Cauley carded a 70 and was tied for fourth place on 132, along with David Toms (67) and Australian Gavin Coles (65).
Leading second-round scores on Friday from the US PGA Tour $4 million McGladrey Classic (USA unless noted):
130 - Arjun Atwal (IND) 67-63
131 - Jim Furyk 66-65, Davis Love 65-66
132 - Bud Cauley 62-70, Gavin Coles (AUS) 67-65, David Toms 65-67
133 - Chad Campbell 66-67, Brian Gay 65-68, Mathew Goggin (AUS) 67-66, Greg Owen (ENG) 64-69, Michael Thompson 65-68, D.J. Trahan 66-67
134 - Steven Bowditch (AUS) 68-66, Jason Day (AUS) 67-67, Martin Flores 65-69, Charles Howell 66-68, Rory Sabbatini (RSA) 69-65, Vijay Singh (FIJ) 66-68, Peter Tomasulo 67-67
135 - Roberto Castro 69-66, Ken Duke 67-68, Tim Herron 69-66, Zach Johnson 65-70, Danny Lee (NZL) 65-70, Rod Pampling (AUS) 64-71, Kyle Reifers 67-68, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 67-68, Boo Weekley 64-71, Brendon de Jonge (ZIM) 66-69