Starting the day seven shots back of leader Jim Furyk, and with plenty of red numbers in between, Tiger Woods needs to make some noise and put together a rally on Friday to head into the weekend with some momentum. So far, he's failed to do that in his second round, actually dropping a shot to move to 1-over at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Woods played the back side in 1-over yesterday, dropping three shots over the final six holes to fall back to even-par. He went off on No. 10 today and once again stalled out -- starting his round with a bogey after going wild off the tee into a fairway bunker. He failed to pick up a birdie at the monster par-5 16th, a hole he's feasted on in the past. Playing that par-5 1-over in the first two days will have Woods muttering to himself.
While Woods sputtered, leader Jim Furyk extended his lead. Furyk went out in 33 to move to 9-under, two shots clear of the field. The veteran with a funky swing carded three birdies on the front side to keep the momentum going after his blistering 63 on Thursday. In addition to Furky, Dustin Johnson posted a number on his first nine by firing a 32 on the back side. The 7400-yard layout typically favors the bomb-and-gougers and Johnson is among the best in the game at that. He took advantage of the 16th and picked up one of his three birdies there.
Of course with no cut in the limited-field WGC, Woods will not have to worry about missing the weekend. But at 1-over and 10 shots back of Furyk, he'll need to post some red numbers coming in. The par-5 second hole is the perfect place to start, and he'll need to get a birdie (or better) there if he wants to make something of his second nine.
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