General / Editor / 30 June 2007 /

Kenny Perry hailed his play off the tee as he charged to the top of the leaderboard at the Buick Open with a nine-under-par 63 in his second round.

The 47-year-old fired eight birdies and an eagle in the day's best round to finish alongside pre-tournament favourite Jim Furyk (68) and Brett Quigley (69) at -10.

Another trio of Americans, Scott Verplank (69), Rocco Mediate (71) and Brian Bateman (70), are one shot off the pace at nine-under, with Woody Austin (71), Steve Elkington (70) and Lucas Glover (68) all a further shot adrift.

Perry felt his driving put him in good stead for his birdie blitz, set up by a great putt at the first hole.

"The first hole, No. 10, I hit it about 30 feet past the hole downhill left to right to six feet and poured it right in there," said Perry.

"That set the tone for the day. Next thing you know I'm making (birdies) all over the place.

"Great day for me. I drove it beautifully, had a lot of opportunities and took advantage of them. It was a fun round."

Furyk, the highest ranked player in the field, remains the favourite for the title but he is now available at 3.3, having previously been matched at a low of 2.28.

Perry, who had been matched at 170 to small stakes, is now the second favourite at 7.6, while the other co-leader Quigley is on offer at 15.

Verplank is trading at 9.6, with Austin on offer at 19.5, Glover at 21 and first-round leader Mediate at 24.

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