KEY POINTS:
Jeff Overton shot a 3-under 69 to take a one-shot lead over Tag Ridings (68) in the blustery second round of the Turning Stone Resort Championship yesterday.
Playing through wind, rain and hail, Overton was at 8-under 136. Weather delays prevented the field finishing before dark but Overton's lead was safe.
In the clubhouse and alone in third at six-under par was Australian rookie Jason Day (69), one shot ahead of Robert Allenby (68), Mark Hensby (69) and Charles Howell III (68). Dustin Johnson (68), Brad Elder (69), Brian Davis (69), and Kyle Thompson (69) were tied for seventh at 4 under.
Defending champion Steve Flesch (73) finished the two rounds at 3-over 147, good enough to make the projected cut by a shot.
Overton, who began the day with a one-shot lead, had held or shared the lead after the opening round only one other time, at the 2007 Reno-Tahoe Open, and tied for 37th. He showed no signs of faltering, even in some of the roughest weather on tour this year.
Overton reached all 18 greens in regulation and if he hadn't struggled with his putter - 34 putts for the round - would have made it more difficult for his rivals to catch him.
Day wasn't fazed. Just before the hail began falling, he made a hole-in-one, his first ace on the PGA Tour. The top 125 players on the money list at the end of the season will retain fully exempt status for the PGA Tour in 2009.
That makes this event, the richest in the Fall Series with a $6 million purse and million-dollar payday, a big deal for guys like Overton, who's ranked 142nd.