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Woods continues birdie barrage, leads by 2

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A second consecutive day of benign conditions meant another round of low scores at Doral’s TPC Blue Monster Course. Here’s the low-down heading into Saturday’s third round, as Tiger Woods now has sole possession of the lead:

The leaderboard: Tiger Woods (-13), Graeme McDowell (-11), Phil Mickelson (-10), Steve Stricker (-10), Bubba Watson (-9), Freddie Jacobson (-9), Charl Schwartzel (-8), Keegan Bradley (-8)

What it means: With conditions again favorable in Miami, players took full advantage - none moreso than Woods. The world No. 2 now holds a two-shot lead at the halfway mark as he seeks to win at Doral for the fourth time in his career and first since 2007.

Round of the day: After nine birdies in his opening round, Woods carded another eight red numbers on Friday against just one bogey. The 17 birdies are the most he’s ever made through two rounds of an event, and the 7-under 65 Friday gives him a two-shot cushion heading into the weekend.

Best of the rest: Schwartzel carded a 7-under 65 Friday, playing his way back into the tournament while matching Woods for low round of the day honors. A runner-up here in 2010, the South African made seven birdies without dropping a shot, including four in a six-hole stretch from Nos. 6-11, and will begin the third round tied for sixth.

Biggest disappointment: Justin Rose. The defending champ was on the first page of the leaderboard much of the day, sitting at 8 under with just three holes left to play Friday. A bogey on No. 7, though, was followed by a disappointing par on No. 8 after an errant approach flirted with the water. At the par-3 ninth, his last of the day, Rose did find the water, leading to a closing triple bogey that dropped him all the way back to 4 under after an even-par 72 Friday.

Main storyline heading into Saturday: Can anyone emerge from a star-studded leaderboard to challenge Woods? Five of the six players closest to Woods have major titles to their credit, but the field will likely need his birdie average to slow down a bit over the weekend to have a chance at catching the 14-time major champ.

Shot of the day: Zach Johnson was already 2 under on his round heading to the short, par-4 11th when his approach from 160 yards barely carried the front bunker before rolling right to the hole for an unexpected eagle 2. Johnson went on to shoot a 5-under 67, and will begin the weekend at 6 under.

Quote of the day: “I gave it a little body wiggle, and usually if you give it a little body wiggle you’ll get an extra foot or two of release out of it.’ - Mickelson about his body language following his tee shot on the ninth hole, where he came within two feet of a hole-in-one.