Tiger Woods stormed into a share of the lead with Nick Watney at the WGC-HSBC Champions on Friday, as Phil Mickelson charged up the leaderboard to be one shot behind.
Tiger Woods stormed into a share of the lead with Nick Watney at the WGC-HSBC Champions on Friday, as Phil Mickelson charged up the leaderboard to be one shot behind.
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The World No 1 birdied the last for a round of 67 to be 10-under-par for the tournament on 134, alongside fellow American Watney, who added a 70 to his opening 64.
Anthony Kim is a shot further back, ahead of US PGA Tour player Pat Perez on six under.
Two-time runner-up Woods survived finding trouble off the first tee to birdie his opening hole but then missed decent chances to pick up more shots before a bogey on the par-3 sixth.
But he drilled another birdie on the ninth and when he sunk a 12 footer on the 13th, he was closing on Watney.
Woods then produced a piece of magic at the 15th when he chipped in from a steep angle in the rough for a birdie and capped his day with a tap in to pick up another shot on the last.
Watney struggled with his short game, but birdies on the final two holes kept him in the hunt.
Mickelson said on Thursday he needed a round in the mid-60s to get himself into contention and he delivered just that, sinking six birdies to position himself perfectly for the weekend.
Taiwan's Lin Wen-Tang set the early pace, picking up five shots in his opening nine holes for the outright lead before a bogey on the 10th and a double bogey at the next saw him drop down the leaderboard.
Lin, who defends his Hong Kong Open title next week, ended at five-under for the tournament.
Ernie Els improved his chance of making an impact with a hole in one at the sixth after judging an 198 yard six iron to perfection.
The South African, who is looking for his first win of the year, followed it up with four birdies before dropping three shots to leave him seven off the pace.
Spain's Sergio Garcia hit a 70 to go with his first round 75 to be 11 behind Watney, leaving him with no hope of successfully defending his title.
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