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GREENSBORO -- Wait until Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim and all those other guys find out that Carl Pettersson shot a course-record 61 on Friday in the Wyndham Championship. They might just blow a gasket or glow green with envy. Or both. Serves them right.

You should have come to Greensboro, guys. A week after the PGA Championship left their nerves jangled and their putting strokes frazzled, most of the PGA Tour's big guns stayed home to rest for next week's FedEx Cup playoffs.

Turns out all they really needed to do was show up at Sedgefield Country Club, which is proving a haven for a little R&R this week. Have you noticed? Everyone carrying a putter around Sedgefield this week is smiling, smothered in sun block and collecting birdies as if they were seashells at the beach. (Memo to Wyndham: You might want to buy Sedgefield and turn it into a big Tudor timeshare).

Carl Pettersson wouldn't mind. Not after flirting with a 59 in Friday's second round before "settling" -- his word, not ours -- for a 61. His two-day total of 15-under 125 tied a PGA Tour record for the lowest score through 36 holes. More importantly, it gave him a three-shot lead over Garrett Willis, his nearest competitor.

Poor Mr. Willis. For the second straight day he shot 64 and still lost ground.

"I was glad Carl ran out of holes," Willis said. "Every time I looked up he had more birdies."

It was that kind of day for Pettersson, who bolted out of the gate with three straight birdies and crossed the finish line with two more birdies over the final three holes. In between, were -- you guessed it -- more birdies. Eleven in all to go with two bogeys.

"I got off to such a good start," Pettersson said. "As soon as I did that my mind kind of set in and I played nice all day."

About the only problem Pettersson encountered on the course was overconfidence. After a birdie at No. 14 took him to 8-under for his round, he made his way to the par-5 15th -- the easiest hole on the course -- thinking the unthinkable: 59.

"I just had a brief moment thinking about it, but then I was kind of laughing at myself," he said.

A few minutes later he was kicking himself. The Grimsley graduate flew his second shot past the green and into the rough -- still an easy up-and-down for birdie. Only Pettersson got cute and flopped his third shot into a bunker. He walked away with a bogey, one of only nine by the field at that hole all day.

Pettersson thought about pitching out to the right of the hole, but instead tried to chip the ball over the corner of a bunker.

"I felt I had momentum going with me and it wasn't that hard of a shot," he said, "but I kind of chunked it."

Maybe he should chunk a few more because said it fired him up for the stretch run. The N.C. State alumnus rolled in a 30-footer for birdie at the 16th, made another birdie at the 17th and finished his round with a nice par on No. 18.

After Pettersson and Willis, Scott McCarron (64) was four strokes back, and Duke graduate Kevin Streelman (64) was five behind. Jerry Kelly (65), Bob Sowards (66) and N.C. State's Tim Clark (67) were 9-under, but it all seemed moot.

To hear defending champion Brandt Snedeker tell it, you can hand the Sam Snead Cup to Pettersson right now.

Snedeker, who shot a 68 on Friday, is nine shots back. He caught and passed Pettersson on the back nine of last year's final round, but this time it's different.

"He's playing great," Snedeker said. "This (city) is like his retirement fund. He plays good here every year. I don't think anybody's going to beat him this week."

A year ago, Pettersson joined the tournament foundation's board of directors and whole-heartedly endorsed moving the tournament from Forest Oaks to Sedgefield. Now we know why.

Because of his connections, there are those who think the guy knows every angle, every pine needle around Sedgefield's Donald Ross-designed course.

Those people would be wrong. Until this week, Pettersson had played Sedgefield once -- last fall.

It's simply a matter of attacking the course, he said, something he couldn't do at Oakland Hills during last week's PGA Championship.

"The (tour) courses have been set up hard, so it's a nice change to be really aggressive, and (Sedgefield) kind of suits my style," Pettersson said. "I try to play really aggressive all the time, and so far it's paid off great."

As much fun as Pettersson and his wingtipped buddies might be having this weekend, Sedgefield members might not enjoy watching their course being devoured.

How easy has it been? John Daly, who shot a 67, made his first cut since February. He's 3-under for the tournament, 12 shots back.

Things could get worse -- or better if you're a player -- during the weekend. A steady rain interrupted play for 71 minutes Friday, taking a little more bite out of those rolling greens.

Asked if he expected the leaderboard to hemorrhage even more red numbers during the weekend, Jerry Kelly nodded.

"If we get no wind and the greens are soft again, absolutely," he said. "Some guys are going to go crazy low because they're that good with the short stick. I hope I can keep up."

In the meantime, Wyndham officials might want to send out a few postcards to those golfers who stayed home to nurse their bruised egos: Having a nice time. Wish you were here.

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com