Bridgestone Invitational: Second-round notebook

By Chris Reimer, PGA TOUR Media Official

• Vijay Singh followed up his first-round 67 with a 66 on Friday and holds the 36-hole lead at the Bridgestone Invitational at 133 (7 under). He has held two leads in World Golf Championships during his career, both in the first round: at the 2005 Bridgestone Invitational (NEC Invitational) and the 1999 CA Championship (American Express Championship), making this his best position at a World Golf Championships after 36 holes.

His best finish here came in 2005, when he tied for third.

Singh is looking for his first win of the season and first World Golf Championships victory. His last win, of 31 PGA TOUR victories, came at the 2007 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

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Zach Johnson shot a 2-under 68 in the second round on Friday.

Singh has won at least one event in 12 different PGA TOUR seasons, and the latest into a season he has waited to claim victory was in 1998, when he won the PGA Championship on August 16 for his first win of the year.

• Phil Mickelson shot a second-round 4-under-par 66 and is currently one shot off the lead at 134 (6 under). Mickelson's best finish at a World Golf Championships event was a runner-up here when it was played for the first time in 1999.

Mickelson did win at Firestone Country Club in 1996 when the event was the NEC World Series of Golf, before it became a World Golf Championships event. He has made only one bogey this week, which came today on the par-4 eighth. Mickelson hit a 7 iron into the bunker on the right, but did not get up and down (missed a 4-foot putt for par).

Mickelson and Singh have been paired together twice this season. During the third round of the CA Championship, Singh shot 63 (9 under) and Mickelson shot 70 (2 under). Singh finished the tournament tied for second and Mickelson finished tied for 20th. During the final round of the Masters Tournament, Singh shot 74 (2 over) and Mickelson shot 72 (even). Singh finished the tournament tied for 14th and Mickelson finished tied for fifth.

• Sean O'Hair shot a 67 (3 under) today to move to within two strokes of the lead at 135 (5 under). He finished tied for third last week at the RBC Canadian Open, which was his first top-10 finish since the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard in March (the week after his win at the PODS Championship). Currently at tied for third, this is O'Hair's best position after 36 holes since the 2007 PLAYERS Championship.

• Zach Johnson, who shot the best score of the afternoon tee times Thursday with a 67 (3 under), continued his solid play on Friday morning with a 68 (2 under) and is just two strokes off of Vijay Singh's lead. Johnson is looking for his first top-10 finish since the World Golf Championships-CA Championship in March. His current tie for third standing is his best following a second round since the 2007 Bridgestone Invitational. Johnson shot rounds of 76-72 on the weekend to finish tied for 11th.

• Peter Lonard is two strokes off the lead after a 66 (4 under) on Friday, matching his low round at the Bridgestone Invitational (he shot a 66 during the final round in 2003). This is his seventh start at the Bridgestone Invitational. He finished tied for fourth here last year after a final-round 68.

• Lee Westwood's 65 on Friday is his lowest round on the PGA TOUR since the opening round of the 2005 PLAYERS Championship. He has had one top-10 finish in nine starts at the Bridgestone Invitational, a tie for ninth in 2004.

Westwood, who is fifth in the European Tour Order of Merit, missed out on the 18-hole playoff at the U.S. Open earlier this year by one shot and finished third. He was in the final group with Tiger Woods on Sunday. On the European Tour, Westwood has eight top-10 finishes in 14 events (he finished tied for second in the first two events of the season).

• Stuart Appleby shot a 4-under-par 66 to move from a tie for 34th after the first round to a tie for seventh and three strokes off the lead. Appleby's opening round was a tale of two nines. Teeing off on the 10th hole he began the tournament with bogeys on five of his first seven holes, making the turn at 5-over par. The 37-year-old Australian countered with five birdies and four pars on the back nine to finish the first round at even par. In his last 27 holes, Appleby has 11 birdies and two bogeys.

Appleby is participating in his 29th career World Golf Championships event at the 2008 World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational, having competed in every World Golf Championships event since the inception of the series in 1999 (the only player to do so). His best finish in a World Golf Championships event is a tie for second in the 2003 CA Championship.

Appleby started out the 2008 PGA TOUR season with five consecutive top-10 finishes, but hasn't recorded one since. He has made seven consecutive cuts and has made it to the weekend in 15 of 17 events this year.

• Robert Karlsson had the only bogey-free round of the day. He birdied holes No. 3, 14 and 15 for a 67 (3 under) today. Karlsson is currently 2-under par for the tournament and tied for 18th.

• Trevor Immelman was able to rebound from a 5-over-par 75 in yesterday's first round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational with a 6-under-par 64 in the second round today. The 11-shot difference between consecutive rounds is the largest increase in Immelman's PGA TOUR career. Immelman's previous largest comeback from a poor round was nine strokes, which he has achieved twice; most recently at this year's Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard when he shot a second round 64 after posting a first round 73. This comeback allowed Immelman to make the cut and finish in the top 50.

• After two rounds of this week's World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational, it paid to have an early tee time at Firestone Country Club. Whether it was the dry, warm conditions or the players wearing down due to the huge size of Firestone, the early starters posted a scoring average of 70.23 compared to their late counterparts, who averaged 70.92. The +.69 differential from early to late starts is the largest at this event over the previous five years at Firestone. The previous largest increase was +0.39 in 2003, when the early birds averaged 70.51 while the late risers 70.90.

Of the 80 players in the field, five have competed in all 10 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational events, and three are currently in the top 10: Phil Mickelson (second), Lee Westwood (tied for third) and Stuart Appleby (tied for seventh). (Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington are the other two. They are tied for 35th and tied for 59th, respectively.)

There are 18 players playing in the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational for the first time and only one is currently under par and in the top 10 (D.J. Trahan). Last year, Andres Romero was the only Bridgestone Invitational "rookie" to finish in the top 10 last year (tie for sixth).

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