AKRON, Ohio — Padraig Harrington broke par for the second straight day, something he hasn’t done in four months. Two more days like that and it could lead to something he hasn’t done in a year.
Without a victory since the PGA Championship, Harrington treaded carefully across Firestone on Friday for a 1-under-par 69 that gave him a one-shot lead over Tim Clark (68) going into the weekend at the Bridgestone Invitational.
Harrington didn’t put much stock into his opening round of 64, and he wasn’t ready to declare himself the favorite to win his first World Golf Championship event. Even so, he conceded that consecutive good rounds were helpful.
“I’m obviously pleased,” said Harrington, who was at 7-under 133. “I shot a good score (Thursday) — put me up there — and it’s nice to shoot a reasonable score to back it up. Break 70 on the weekend a few more times and I should be doing OK.”
Scott Verplank went 35 holes without a bogey until hitting into the trees on the 18th hole and dropping a shot for a 69, leaving him alone in third at 135.
Tiger Woods, a six-time winner at Firestone, was among 20 players within five shots of the lead, although he found himself in a peculiar spot after an even-par 70. He was tied for 13th, the first time after any round at Firestone he has been out of the top 10. He was at 2-under 138, the same score he had in 2007 when he went on to win by eight strokes.
Phil Mickelson, playing for the first time since his wife’s surgery for breast cancer last month, made a few great escapes from the rough and put together a 69 to finish six shots behind Harrington.
Rollins’ 62 ties Reno record
RENO, Nev. — John Rollins matched the course record with a 10-under 62 to take a two-stroke lead in the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, and Chris Riley tied the PGA Tour mark for relation to par for nine holes with 9-under 27.
Rollins, who had a birdie- birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie run, had a 12-under 132 total — leaving him two strokes ahead of 2003 PGA champion Shaun Micheel, who followed an opening 69 with a bogey-free 65 at Montreux Golf and Country Club.
Song advances at Amateur
ST. LOUIS — Jennifer Song moved within two matches of joining Pearl Sinn (1988) as the only women to win two U.S. Golf Association championships in the same year, beating Stephanie Kono 2 and 1 in the U.S. Women’s Amateur quarterfinals.
Song, who won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links in June, will face Tiffany Lua of Rowland Heights, Calif., today. Lua beat Jessica Korda of Bradenton, Fla., 3 and 2.
In the other semifinal, 14-year-old Alexis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla., will play Jennifer Johnson of La Quinta, Calif.
The Associated Press
