Tigers Woods has taken the lead at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, bursting out of the gates to play 5-under through his first seven holes. He’s now at 9-under for the tournament, three shots clear of first-round leader Webb Simpson.
Bridgestone Invitational 2013 leaderboard: Tiger Woods takes lead at Firestone
Two birdies and an eagle propelled Tiger Woods to the lead at one of his favorite courses.
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
The world’s top player started with a birdie on No. 1, eagle on No. 2 and birdie on No. 3 to jump to 8-under. Woods’ start at Firestone presents some good scoring opportunities considering the seven-time champion’s played it perfectly tee-to-green. The second hole is just one of two par-5s on the South Course and Woods disappointingly three-putted there on Friday for par. It’s almost a must-make birdie for Tiger, but he rolled in an eagle on Friday to make up for his first-round par.
Tiger added one more birdie at Firsestone’s eighth hole, prompting members of the CBS broadcasting crew to start talking “59 watch.” This is not exactly TPC Deere Run so breaking 60 is probably impossible, but Woods does already hold the tournament record -- a 61 -- which could be in play if he keeps blasting his driver off the tee.
Woods shot a 4-under 66 in the first round, leaving him two shots off the pace set by Simpson. He needed a strong second nine to do it with birdies on 1, 3, 4, and 8 on Thursday (he started on No. 10). The new test for Woods is whether he can put together a good back nine, where he made two bogeys in the opening round.
Simpson is still in the mix, by the way, after making par on his first two holes of the second round. He’s currently tied with Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner at 6-under, two shots back of Woods.
Woods has always played well at Firestone Country Club, finishing in the top 10 in 11 of his 13 appearances there.
Here’s a snapshot of the top of the leaderboard:
| Place | Player | Score | Thru |
| 1 | Tiger Woods | -9 | 8 |
| T2 | Keegan Bradley | -6 | F |
| T2 | Webb Simpson | -6 | 6 |
| T4 | Bill Haas | -5 | F |
| T4 | Jason Dufner | -5 | 10 |
| T4 | Chris Wood | -5 | 10 |
| T7 | Jim Furyk | -4 | F |
| T7 | Luke Donald | -4 | F |
| T7 | Ryan Moore | -4 | 9 |
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