Tiger shoots dominant 10-under 62 in Round 2

Tiger Woods didn’t like the way he warmed up Friday morning before the second round of the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club. But boy, did he find his game on the course. 

Woods blazed a bogey-free, 10-under-par 62 to match the tournament record he set in the second round here in 2007, and vaulted from a four-shot deficit to a two-stroke advantage. A five-time winner of the event, Tiger has a 36-hole score of 11-under 133. First-round leader Zach Johnson sits in second place at 135 and Matt Kuchar is in third place with a 136.

“I can’t think of a shot that he missed,” playing partner and defending champion Graeme McDowell said. “It was just a display of great golf.”

Woods fired a second-round 61 at Firestone Country Club earlier this year in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, but said Friday’s round was every bit as satisfying.

“I think Firestone is obviously a much more difficult golf course than Sherwood, but as far as quality ball-striking, I hit it equally as good today if not better.”

The statistics back him up. Tiger didn’t miss a green in regulation, missed only one fairway and used 28 putts. All while facing chilly conditions and playing to challenging pin placements.

“This is the last of the year for a lot of us,” Woods said, smiling about the latter. “I’d think they’d (PGA TOUR staff) make it a little easier on us. But they gave it to us pretty good the last couple days. If you miss the ball in the wrong spots, you’re going to make bogeys.”

For the second straight day, the start of play was delayed for one hour due to frost. Woods and defending champion Graeme McDowell teed off about 11:30 a.m. local time in brisk, overcast conditions and were followed by a massive gallery.

Beginning the second round at 1-under, four strokes behind leader Zach Johnson, Tiger got off to a much better start than Thursday, when he three-putted the short first hole for a bogey and failed to birdie the vulnerable par-5 second. Friday, he birdied both holes.

After a par at the par-3 third, Woods hit a good drive and a wonderful approach shot to the 456-yard, par-4 fourth, the ball checking up about three feet from the cup for an easy birdie. Tiger was unable to birdie the 531-yard, par-5 fifth, where he knocked his second shot over the green, leaving a delicate, downhill flop shot. Woods made good contact, but the ball released to the front of the green and he two-putted for par.

Tiger also two-putted the par-4 sixth hole, just missing an 18-foot birdie attempt. At the 446-yard, par-4 seventh, where a rock outcropping is positioned in the middle of the fairway about 300 yards off the tee, Woods hit a good drive and hoisted his second shot 20 feet left of the hole. Tiger hit a nice putt that caught the left edge of the cup and curled in, drawing a smile from the game’s top-ranked player.

With the tees moved up slightly, Tiger hit a solid iron to the 205-yard, downhill par-3 eighth, one of the toughest on the course, and the ball settled 12 feet behind the pin. Woods read the right-to-left putt perfectly, and the ball dove into the right side of the cup for another birdie.

At the par-4 ninth, Tiger hit a fine approach shot that covered the pin and landed close to the cup, then rolled 15 feet past. He missed the birdie try, but still made the turn in 5-under 31.

Woods kept it rolling with another birdie at the 359-yard, par-4 10th. His tee shot left a half sand wedge to the pin and he executed the shot perfectly, the ball stopping five feet from the hole with Tiger finishing it off. At the 517-yard, par-5 11th, he hit a solid drive and an even better second shot, reaching the green in two with an iron. Woods just missed the 13-foot downhill eagle putt to the right but tapped in for birdie.

Tiger did well to two-putt the 186-yard, par-3 12th. He was fooled by the break, leaving himself a 10-foot putt.

“I had to miss it low right, and I was obviously not trying to hit it 10 feet past,” Woods said. “The more I threw it up there, the steeper the slope was, the more it was going to go past the hole. I just accepted the fact that I was going to be low right and had to make something inside 10 feet.”

At the 568-yard, par-5 13th, Woods knocked his second shot with an iron into the right greenside bunker, drawing a tough lie near some acorns. Tiger studied the shot for several minutes, then executed beautifully, the ball stopping three feet from the cup for an easy birdie.

“I had one of those acorns right behind the ball,” Woods said. “I basically played it like a buried lie and figured if I just slammed down that acorn it was probably going to explode, but I felt that if I could just get the ball out of the bunker that it would just roll down to the hole somewhere inside 10 feet.”

At the 455-yard, par-4 14th, Tiger hit another accurate drive and carved his second shot six feet behind the hole. Faced with a fast and tricky left-to-right putt, he calmly rolled the ball into the center of the cup for another birdie.

Many consider the scenic, downhill 189-yard, par-3 15th the most challenging hole on the course. The front of the green is protected by a water hazard, and proper club selection to the narrow green is crucial. Woods played it smart, flying his tee shot to the back of the putting surface, leaving him a speedy downhill birdie putt. He easily two-putted for a par.

At the 563-yard, par-5 16th, Tiger found the fairway safely and went for the green in two with an iron from 267 yards. He made solid contact, the ball reaching the front-right portion of the putting surface but leaving a long, uphill, right-to-left eagle putt. Woods hit a beautiful lag putt one foot short of the cup for a tap-in birdie, his 10th of the round.

Tiger took his time surveying what little wind there was on the elevated tee at the 166-yard, par-3 17th. Woods chose the right club, the ball ending up about seven feet below the pin, but was unable to convert.

“That putt on 17 wasn’t very good,” Tiger said. “I blocked the hell out of it.”

At the home hole, the downhill 441-yard, par-4 18th, Woods flushed a fairway wood right down the middle of the fairway. From there, he was left with 167 yards to the back-right pin placement. Tiger’s approach wound up pin-high, but well left of the hole, leaving a lengthy birdie putt to better his tournament record. Woods two-putted easily. 

Asked if he ever thought about shooting 59, one of the few things he hasn’t done in a tournament, Tiger said, “No, I was just kind of trying to make one more until I missed that putt at 17.”

Rain is in the forecast Saturday and windy conditions are expected Sunday.

“If the weatherman actually does get it right, we are going to have one hell of a test,” said Woods.

Tiger is scheduled start Saturday at 1:58 p.m. ET with Johnson.