2014 WGC Bridgestone Invitational: Sergio Garcia fires 61 to take 2nd-round lead

Sergio Garcia tied a course record with a second-round 61 on Friday, including a scorching-hot 27 on the back nine to set a course nine-hole record. Garcia improved to -11 and took a three-stroke lead after two rounds at the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.

Garcia’s back nine 27 was crazy. I mean really crazy. It is almost weird to think about, but Sergio has become a great putter. For so long, the narrative has been that Sergio couldn’t make any clutch putts. But Friday he completely shattered that notion, making 11 straight one-putts to cap off his 9-under 61. Garcia is even among the Tour leaders in strokes gained putting.

Elsewhere on the golf course, Justin Rose was continuing to make the case that he is the best golfer in the world right now. With four birdies and a bogey, Rose backed up his opening-round 65 with a 3-under 67. He looks to be in complete command of his golf swing right now and, only three strokes behind Garcia, should be a factor this weekend.

Speaking of golfers who are playing great right now, Rory McIlroy is continuing to obliterate the golf ball. He is averaging a ridiculous 339 yards off the tee and hitting nearly 75 percent of greens, which is helping him climb the leaderboard. McIlroy is tied for third place at 7-under par.

After Round 1 in Akron, things seemed to be heading a positive direction for Tiger Woods. An opening-round 68 left Woods in a good spot. But on Friday, it took all of Tiger’s grinding ability in order to stay relevant heading into the weekend.

As we have noted, Tiger is struggling big time with the driver. In the second round, he hit only 4 of 14 fairways, including 2 of 8 with the driver. Luckily for Tiger, he had one of those vintage scrambling rounds that will keep him in the mix.

On Woods’ opening hole, he missed the fairway left (a common theme for the day) but was able to stick his second shot close for a gimme birdie. Any momentum that was gained on the first hole was quickly dashed, however, as Tiger made bogey on two of the next three holes. Both bogies came off missed putts from under 10 feet. It was a start that had Tiger visibly angry.
Tiger turned in 36, which is surprising considering he hit only one fairway. In another interesting twist, Tiger bogeyed the easy second hole. Over the years, it’s a hole that Tiger has owned. But another missed fairway and a bunker shot that couldn’t find the putting surface led to a stroke lost. A couple of birdies and a finishing bogey put a cap on an up-and-down day for Woods, who is trying to gain some momentum and play his way into the FedEx Cup playoffs and the US Ryder Cup team. His ability to find a way to make pars has kept him in this championship.

Throw in his ability to beat up this golf course -- he shot 61 last year -- and you can’t count him out this weekend.

The commentators on Golf Channel made an interesting point regarding Sergio. When Phil Mickelson was roughly Sergio’s age, they were similar. About 10 years ago, Phil was labeled as “the best player to never win a major.” Then Phil started winning them in bunches. Sergio, now 34, is the same age that Mickelson was when he won his first major. If Sergio keeps playing like this, he will be a factor not only this weekend, but next week at the PGA Championship as well.

Here is a look at the leaderboard as we head to the weekend.