Tiger Woods acknowledges the cheers Friday during the second round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images) DORAL, Fla. — Tiger Woods is back on track. Rory McIlroy is getting there. Woods, the No. 2 player in the world, continued his authoritative play Friday on a golf course he loves to grab the lead heading into the star-studded weekend of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship. On another day nearly void of wind, Woods, who received putting tips from Steve Stricker on Wednesday, did some more superb work on the greens at the TPC Blue Monster and was in control of his whole game during a 7-under-par 65 that included eight birdies. LEADERBOARD: WGC-Cadillac Championship Woods, who has won this event six times and has won at Doral three times, has made 17 birdies through 36 holes — the most he's made in the first two rounds in his professional career. That gave Woods a two-shot lead on Graeme McDowell through 36 holes. The two, however, are far from alone at the top of the leaderboard. Loaded with some of the game's biggest names, the final 36 holes could be a sun-baked shootout. Phil Mickelson fired a 67, making birdie from a foot on his final hole, to get to 10 under. He's tied with Stricker, who fired a second consecutive 67. Reigning Masters champion Bubba Watson came home with a 69 and is 9 under. "I saw Phil sneaking up the leaderboard there behind me and I said to (his caddie), 'Let's spoil this party tomorrow,'" said McDowell, the only player without a bogey through 36 holes. "I'm sure they would have liked Tiger and Phil in the last group tomorrow, would have been great for the tournament, but I certainly will enjoy the position of being in the last group and in the mix. That's right where I want to be. "So star power and all that, but I'm happy to be out there as well. Great to see the best players in the game playing as well as they are. Always exciting to have Tiger and Phil playing well. It brings the crowds and puts people behind their TV screens and that's what's important. " … I've played with Tiger many times, many stages. I feel like I've learned a lot over the years playing with him. Tomorrow is not about winning the golf tournament. Tomorrow is just about maintaining position, maintaining the way I'm playing and trying to give myself a chance come Sunday afternoon. Tiger always brings his own interesting little circus inside the ropes. But I've been there many times and you know, always look forward to be playing with him. And he certainly looks like if you can finish one ahead of him this weekend, it looks like you'll do OK here." Mickelson, who is back after taking two weeks off, was hoping to be paired with Woods just as he was in the final round of the 2005 event here. Back then, Woods won by one shot in a back-and-forth battle. The two were last paired in the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Golf Club. Before that, Mickelson trounced Woods in the final round to win the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. "I saw Tiger was playing well and I wanted to make a couple birdies to get in the group with him," Mickelson said. "It seems since 2007 when we played at Deutsche Bank in Boston, I've been playing some of my best golf when we get paired together. I hope that (Saturday) that I play a good round and so does he, and we get a chance to get paired together in Sunday's final round, because he seems to somehow bring out my best golf." McIlroy, the world No. 1, isn't near the top of the leaderboard but he shot his first sub-par round of the season. With a little bounce in his step for the first time this year, McIlroy made six birdies in a round of 69. Story Highlights
Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2013/03/08/tiger-woods-rory-mcilroy-graeme-mcdowell-phil-mickelson-wgc-cadillac-championship/1974325/