Rollins playing for first in Reno after Friday's 62

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Things have been going well for John Rollins lately, and a career-low 62 in Round 2 puts him in first in Reno.

RENO, Nev. -- In the second round of the Buick Invitational, playing Torrey Pines Golf Course's South Course, John Rollins shot an 8-under 64. Friday at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, Rollins had a four-birdie, one-eagle run on his front nine, was 8-under through 11 holes and settled for a 10-under 62.

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So John, compare the rounds.

"The 64 at Torrey I would say probably ranks a little higher. Under those conditions and the length of the South Course," he said. "That course plays quite a bit more difficult than this. But . . ."

And there's always is a "but."

"But this is the lowest 18-hole round I've had on the PGA TOUR, and I have to rank it as one of the best rounds I've ever had."

That round left him two strokes ahead of Shaun Micheel, the first time in his TOUR career that he's held a 36-hole lead, leaving him in good position to pick up his third PGA TOUR title.

Rollins, 33rd in both the FedExCup and Presidents Cup standings, admitted he was happy to be back at Montreux Golf and Country Club, where he tied for second a year ago. While a runner-up finish is a runner-up finish, Rollins is realistic about how Sunday went down in 2008. He began the final round 10 strokes behind eventual champion Parker McLachlin, and Rollins admitted he never entertained thoughts of winning.

"Last year I was playing for second. I managed to shoot 1-under Sunday and catch Brian Davis for second. But it was a play for second," Rollins said. "Parker played great and ran away with it. But it's nice to come back and play somewhere where you have played well and had some success."

Not only did Rollins compare his 62 Friday with his 64 at the Buick Invitational, he also compared his Thursday round in Reno with his Friday effort, saying his first-round 70 was every bit as valuable as his 62, adding that "It could have been 75 pretty easy."

In that first round, with wind gusting to 38 mph, Rollins only managed to hit eight greens in regulation but still shot an even-par 70.

"[Thursday] the winds were all over the place, swirling around. My caddie and I are standing in a number of fairways where the wind would turn two or three times before we would hit a shot. You had to somehow figure it out and just go with what your instinct was telling you," Rollins said. "It was definitely scoreable out there [Friday]. The greens have softened up some. They're holding shots better than they did [Thursday].

"If you're going to try to give yourself a chance to win golf tournaments, you've got to turn those 73s and 74s and 75s into 70s and 69s."

And 62s don't hurt, either.