India's Arjun Atwal carded a fine one-under 69 to move up to tied 17th place at the midway stage of the USD 5.1 million Sony Open at a windy par-70 Waialae Golf and Country Club in Honolulu.
Shiv Kapoor, the Rookie of the Year on the Asian Tour in 2005, faltered with a three-over 73 for the second day running, and missed the cut in his first-ever USPGA Tour appearance.
Still, it was a learning experience for the young Indian star who now goes back to Asian and European Tour events in the next few weeks.
Indo-Swede Daniel Chopra, buoyed by an 18th-hole eagle, slotted a five-under 65 and ensured a tee time for the weekend. He is now one-over 141 for two days, the cut coming at three-over.
Asia's standard bearer was still K J Choi, who despite a 71, was three-under 137 for two days in tied eighth place. He was two shots ahead of Atwal.
Chad Campbell and Jim Furyk shot 3-under 67 each to tie for the lead going into a weekend.
And the weekend will not see Michelle Wie, who despite a second round of two-under 68, missed the cut at seven-over after a 79 on first day.
With a 5-foot putt on the 18th hole for her seventh birdie of the round, the 16-year-old Wie finished with a 2-under 68 to match her record from two years ago as the lowest score by a woman competing on a men's tour.
Atwal played very steady and tamed the winds to a certain extent, as he had just two bogeys but three birdies.
His putting was quite on the mark as he needed just 26 putts to go through the round but he still left a lot to be desired off the tee. He looked headed for an over-par round when he birdied the 17th and 18th in succession to get into the red.
The star was undoubtedly Daniel Chopra. After a 76 on the opening day, he was in danger of missing the cut in the year's first full field event.
But Chopra fought back with grit and was four-under for the front nine. His only blemish was a bogey on tenth, but then on closing 18th, he nailed an eagle from nine feet that saw him soar to five-under and jump from 127th to 40th over one round.
Kapur's two rounds of 73-73 had 33 putts each as he grappled with the greens but it still meant a lot of learning for the youngster.
Also missing the cut was last year's Asian Order of Merit Winner Thaworn Wiratchant, who had rounds of 75 and 73, and Charlie Wi, who shot 75 and 70.
Making a rare cut was David Duval (three-over 143) who made only one cut last year while grappling with injuries. He birdied the last hole for a 68 to finish on the number.
Defending champion Vijay Singh made birdies on the two par 5s for a 69 and was at even-par 140.