ST. SIMONS ISLAND — Davis Love III might have found the perfect tonic for any Ryder Cup hangover — playing golf, and playing well on a Sea Island course he knows better than anyone.

In his third straight tournament since his U.S. team lost a big lead on the final day at Medinah, Love hit a 6-iron to 3 feet on the 17th hole that put him in the final group going into the weekend at the McGladrey Classic, where he is becoming more than just a tournament host.

Love was one shot behind Arjun Atwal, who is running out of time to keep his PGA Tour card.

Atwal made an adjustment in his putting stroke earlier in the week and watched it pay off in a big way at Sea Island for a 63, his best score of the year.

Atwal, whose two-year exemption from winning in Greensboro, N.C., expires this year, is No. 175 on the money list and has only two tournaments left to finish in the top 125.

He opened with three straight birdies and took the outright lead with a wedge into 5 feet on the fifth hole, his 14th of the round.

“I’m in a desperate situation,” Atwal said. “I got no choice — either win or finish in the top two. So I’ve just got to grind it out.”

Atwal was at 10-under 130, though this tournament has a distinct Ryder Cup feel going into the final two days.

It starts with Love, the American captain, who moved to Sea Island when he was 14. What helped more than his course knowledge was switching to a belly putter that doesn’t quite reach his belly, and not even his shirt “unless it’s untucked.” Brian Bateman, who is much shorter than Love, once used it as a belly putter and Love figures the fact that it’s a heavy club and has a different look could only help him.

“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 was tied with Jim Furyk, who hasn’t played since his bogey-bogey finish in the Ryder Cup and is making his final PGA Tour appearance of the year.

Furyk was plodding along Sea Island, a few birdies on his card, when he rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt on the 14th, converted a two-putt birdie from 100 feet away just off the green, and made a third straight birdie on the 16th from about 12 feet. He wound up with a 65.

“I felt a little rusty on the way in,” Furyk said. “I have a lot of confidence in my ball striking right now, but when you don’t play a lot, sometimes it’s the course management, making the good decisions. 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.”

David Toms was tied with them until he made bogey on the final hole for a 67, though he was still only two shots out of the lead. Bud Cauley, who shared the first-round lead, wasn’t as crisp with his irons and had to settle for a 70. He also was two behind, still in great shape as he pursues his first PGA Tour win. Gavin Coles joined them at 132 after six birdies in a round of 65.

McGLADREY CLASSIC SCORES

Friday — Second Round

Arjun Atwal 67-63—130

Davis Love III 65-66—131

Jim Furyk 66-65—131

Bud Cauley 62-70—132

David Toms 65-67—132

Gavin Coles 67-65—132

Michael Thompson 65-68—133

Brian Gay 65-68—133

D.J. Trahan 66-67—133

Chad Campbell 66-67—133

Mathew Goggin 67-66—133

Greg Owen 64-69—133

Vijay Singh 66-68—134

Charles Howell III 66-68—134

Jason Day 67-67—134

Martin Flores 65-69—134

Steven Bowditch 68-66—134

Rory Sabbatini 69-65—134

Peter Tomasulo 67-67—134

Ken Duke 67-68—135

Roberto Castro 69-66—135

Boo Weekley 64-71—135

Henrik Stenson 67-68—135

Rod Pampling 64-71—135

Brendon de Jonge 66-69—135

Kyle Reifers 67-68—135

Zach Johnson 65-70—135

Tim Herron 69-66—135

Danny Lee 65-70—135

Joe Durant 65-71—136

Blake Adams 68-68—136

Camilo Villegas 65-71—136

Alexandre Rocha 68-68—136

Gary Christian 67-69—136

Tommy Gainey 69-67—136

Will Claxton 70-66—136

Bill Lunde 68-68—136

Jason Bohn 69-67—136

James Driscoll 67-69—136

Daniel Chopra 68-69—137

Ben Curtis 68-69—137

Marco Dawson 62-75—137

J.J. Killeen 66-71—137

Billy Horschel 68-69—137

Charlie Beljan 66-71—137

Kevin Chappell 71-66—137

Harris English 71-66—137

Mark Wilson 68-69—137

Heath Slocum 69-68—137

Stuart Appleby 69-68—137

Alex Cejka 70-67—137

David Hearn 66-71—137

Scott Brown 67-70—137

Billy Hurley III 66-71—137

For complete scores, visit RN-T.com

David Mathis 69-69—138

Brendan Steele 67-71—138

Justin Leonard 68-70—138

Billy Mayfair 72-66—138

Garth Mulroy 68-70—138

Jason Kokrak 68-70—138

Edward Loar 68-70—138

Chase Wright 67-71—138

Scott Stallings 68-70—138

Rocco Mediate 70-68—138

Erik Compton 69-69—138

Richard H. Lee 67-71—138

Chris DiMarco 72-67—139

Jeff Overton 69-70—139

Nathan Green 72-67—139

Brian Davis 74-65—139

Robert Allenby 69-70—139

Stewart Cink 69-70—139

Cameron Beckman 66-73—139

Matt Jones 72-67—139

Mark Anderson 69-70—139

Russell Knox 71-68—139

Brian Harman 67-72—139

Carl Paulson 68-71—139

Ben Crane 68-71—139

Jonas Blixt 72-67—139

Sean O’Hair 73-66—139

Chris Kirk 69-70—139

Angel Cabrera 68-71—139

John Rollins 69-70—139

Ryuji Imada 70-69—139

Matt Every 67-72—139

Zack Miller 68-71—139

Kyle Thompson 67-72—139

Failed to make the cut

Jeff Maggert 70-70—140

Chris Stroud 72-68—140

Gary Woodland 70-70—140

Ted Potter, Jr. 68-72—140

Bobby Gates 69-71—140

Jordan Mitchell 69-71—140

Vaughn Taylor 68-72—140

Chez Reavie 69-71—140

Tim Petrovic 69-71—140

Scott Dunlap 73-68—141

Paul Stankowski 68-73—141

Tommy Biershenk 72-69—141

D.A. Points 73-68—141

Colt Knost 72-69—141

Nick O’Hern 70-71—141

Stephen Gangluff 71-70—141

Garrett Willis 70-72—142

Jerry Kelly 68-74—142

John Daly 70-72—142

Tim Weinhart 72-70—142

Troy Kelly 70-73—143

Kevin Kisner 71-72—143

Bart Bryant 69-74—143

Shane Bertsch 69-74—143

Daniel Summerhays 71-72—143

Hunter Hamrick 70-73—143

Tom Pernice Jr. 67-77—144

Cameron Tringale 76-68—144

Todd Hamilton 70-74—144

Derek Lamely 72-72—144

Ricky Barnes 70-75—145

Brendon Todd 72-73—145

Roland Thatcher 74-71—145

Stephen Ames 69-76—145

Jhonattan Vegas 73-73—146

Sung Kang 73-73—146

Dean Wilson 71-75—146

Steve Wheatcroft 74-74—148

Miguel Angel Carballo 74-74—148

Patrick Sheehan 77-71—148

Michael Bradley 74-74—148

Matt Bettencourt 75-74—149

David Hutsell 71-78—149

Robert Karlsson 72-79—151