Nicky Dougherty of England in Shanghai on Friday. (AFP)

Shanghai: Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa played some gritty golf on a grim and windy day for decent sub-par scores on the second day of the inaugural HSBC Champions Golf Tournament here.

Atwal, who had one bogey on either side of the course, had a run of four birdies in five holes, which helped him post a 70 to be tied 19th at the midway stage at the Sheshan Golf and Country Club.

Randhawa, accompanied by wife Tina despite the irritating drizzle, managed steady pars besides four birdies till the 18th, where he dropped a shot. It was his only blemish in a three-under 69 that saw him rise from 51st to 33rd place.

Atwal, who plays the World Cup in Portugal next week with Randhawa, remarked “that’s the World Cup team getting primed up. There are two more rounds to go, and let’s see how it goes.

“Five-under is alright. If the weather stays like this, it won’t probably go too low. But if it clears up, there’s plenty of birdies out there.”

On the top the of the leaderboard are England’s Nick Dougherty and David Howell at 12-under apiece, but the shadow of Tiger Woods was looming large behind them at 10-under.

“It was a long and frustrating day. There was a good bit of bad weather out there and I just had to deal with it. I had to hang in there and grind away and just be as patient as possible,” said Woods, who more than once was enraged at himself and showed it in public.

Randhawa was a little disappointed as time and again, he fell short of well-deserved birdies. He hit the irons well and came to the greens in regulation, but the final touch deserted him.

Still he birdied the second, eighth, ninth and 13th with his only bogey coming on the 18th.

Atwal, on the other hand, summed up his day saying “It was alright. I hit a few good shots and a few bad ones. The rain came down heavy and it made it tough out there. I made a bogey during that patch, the 15th.

“It could have been better off the tee. I was just not comfortable but I think I’ll be all right for the weekend.”

Woods shares third spot with Nick ’Hern, who was one of the players to shoot the day’s best round of 67.