Tiger Woods was off to a slow start at the Doral Country Club down in Florida this week but he picked up the pace in the second round. He posted a 66 in the first round at Doral and an impressive 65 in the second. Tiger finally hit his stride on Friday and ended the second round with a 2 stroke lead over the field followed by Graeme McDowell just two strokes back and Phil Mickelson at 3 back along with Steve Stricker.
Rory McIlroy ended the second round 11 strokes back thanks to a disappointing 73in the first round and a 69 on Friday. McIlroy has taken heat in the press lately for dropping out of his last tourney at the Honda Classic last weekend. He had a wisdom tooth issue and any of you who have had to deal with that can hardly blame the young Irishman for leaving the golf course as he did.
Tiger talked a little about his new good buddy Rory after the round at Doral on Friday by relating how it was when he had to drop out of the Doral last year due to an injury to his Achilles tendon. “It was at a point that, if I kept going, yeah, I could have pushed it to that point, just like when I came back and tried to play The Players. I learned my lesson from there and I didn’t do it, and consequently I was able to go on and win the next tournament I played in, which was Bay Hill,” related Tiger.
Woods must feel right at home there at Doral because he has three top 10 finishes and three wins in his last six finishes. “This course and this tournament has been good to me over the years”, added Woods.
Both Woods and McIlroy are in the Nike stable and both are being rewarded handsomely for it. McIlroy’s deal is rumored to be for over $20 million! Rory has studied and emulated Tiger Woods since he was a little boy and now the two appear to have become friends after competing together in several major events.
After the second round at Doral McIlroy told the press that he really admired Tiger for the round that he just posted. “He might be the best athlete ever, in terms of his ability to grind it out.” “I could have a bit more of that, if I’m honest.”
