Tour Report: Laird takes the lead after 65 (PGATOUR.com)

ORLANDO, Fla. — A new leader just emerged at Bay Hill after Martin Laird just poured in his sixth birdie of the day to cap a 7-under 65 that puts him at 9 under for the week and one shot clear of Spencer Levin and K.J. Choi.

Laird was flawless on Friday, hitting 13 greens in regulation and taking just 26 putts.

This is the third straight start that Laird has been high on the leaderboard. Last week in Tampa, he opened with a 66 to sit two shots off the lead before finishing in a tie for fifth.

A week before that, Laird tied for 10th at Doral and earlier this year, he tied for third in Phoenix. Laird’s last — and only — victory on the PGA TOUR came in 2009 at the Justin Timberlake Shriner’s Hospitals for Children Open.

Garcia finds happiness, form again

Sergio Garcia moved up the leaderboard with a 68 on Friday.

ORLANDO, Fla. — It was only two years ago that Sergio Garcia was No. 2 in the world. But as the player ranked above him at the time has shown, a lot can happen in two years.

Morgan Leigh-Norman broke up with Garcia early in 2009 and the Spaniard was left heartbroken. His game suffered and he disappeared from competitive golf following last year’s PGA Championship before surfacing as a vice captain for a victorious European Ryder Cup team last fall.

More than anything, that time away from golf between the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup helped Garcia between the ears.

“It’s definitely better,” Garcia said recently when asked last week about his enthusiasm for the game now. “I definitely feel like I want to be out there.

“I think it was a mix of things. Obviously a couple of things off the golf course didn’t help, and then I just — you know, I just started playing not great and I kind of, you know, knowing how I can play and what I’m capable of doing, I don’t like to settle for less. I guess a mix of those things kind of pulled me down a little bit. But we are looking forward to it now.”

Indeed. Garcia has tumbled all the way to 82nd in the world — but he is slowly working his way back. It started last week in Tampa, where he was within a shot of the lead entering the weekend before finishing in a tie for 15th.

Here at Bay Hill, Garcia is again in contention going to the weekend after a 68 Friday.

“It feels good,” Garcia said of his recent resurgence. “Obviously I’m playing better. I’m able to do a lot of things better than I’ve been doing lately. It’s a working process. It’s getting there. It feels better but it’s still not finished.”

It may not be done, but Garcia is in good shape after four birdies, an eagle and just two bogeys in the second round. He missed only one fairway and was accurate with his irons, hitting 14 greens in regulation.

It’s rounds like that — not to mention his 68-66 to open the week in Tampa — that have Garcia smiling again and feeling good about his game.

“There’s obviously confidence coming back; if not, I would not be able to hit some of the shots I’m hitting,” said Garcia, whose eagle on the par-5 16th came after he hit his approach from 188 yards to 16 feet. “Obviously we are not 100 percent, but you know, we are slowly getting there. It feels good to be able to shoot these kind of rounds.”

If Garcia’s game isn’t all the way back, his joy and sense of humor seem to be.

When asked if he ever looks at his swing on film, Garcia said he rarely does because he’s more of a “feel” player. When it was suggested that doing so has helped others, Garcia responded by saying everyone is different, then added, “Some people like ice cream without sauce and others like it with sauce.” — Brian Wacker

Leaderboard update: Levin still leads

ORLANDO, Fla. — Spencer Levin said  earlier that he felt he got a lot out of his round because he didn’t hit it nearly as well as he scored. And so far, his 2-under 70 is standing up with Levin holding a two-shot lead over Steve Marino and Charles Howell, who had the low round of the day with a 65.

Right behind Howell and Marino, though, is Rickie Fowler, who is 3 under on his round with two holes to play and 6 under for the week. Hunter Mahan is right there, too. He’s 2 under on the day and one shot back of Fowler.

Phil Mickelson? He’s gone backwards today at 3 over through 14 holes to drop to even par for the tournament.

The sixth hole proved to be Mickelson’s waterloo, so to speak, with the left-hander rinsing his tee shot and then hitting his next one into a fairway bunker. Mickelson was forced to lay up from there before eventually finishing with a triple-bogey 8.

As for the cut line, it’s currently at 4 over. As a point of reference, the highest cut this season was 6 over at the par-70 PGA National. The highest cut in tournament history was 10 over in 1983.

Those currently outside the cut line include Bill Haas (still on the course), Camilo Villegas, Sean O’Hair (on the course), Ryo Ishikawa, Graeme McDowell and Jhonattan Vegas. — Brian Wacker

Compton in hunt despite lack of sleep

ORLANDO, Fla. — Erik Compton had one of the day’s best rounds Friday with a 5-under 67 that has him on the edge of contention heading into the weekend at Bay Hill. It’s even more impressive when you take into account that Compton was apparently awake until roughly 4 a.m.

His lack of sleep, however, had little to do with the 75 he shot earlier Thursday.

“A little that, and there was a party going on next door,” Compton said. “When I knocked on the door at 4 in the morning they said, ‘Are you serious?’ And I said, ‘Hell, yes, I’m serious, knock it off.’”

Compton fought off the lack of sleep and made six birdies and just one bogey. He also got up and own a couple of times from the sand and took just 26 putts.

It also helped that the wind wasn’t blowing Friday morning, which wasn’t the case a day earlier.

”You could play more strategy golf,” Compton said. “Thursday was just hit it as far as you can down there and try to avoid the wind.

“And I’ve had a hot putter all week. I’ve been reading the greens pretty well.”

This is just Compton’s third start on the PGA TOUR this season. The double heart transplant recipient tied for 25th at the Northern Trust Open and tied for 55th at the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com two weeks ago.

”I’m in a great spot,” Compton said. “For me, this is a process. I have struggled on weekends, so if I can continue to have my strength going and a good putter, I feel like I can play well. But you know, I’ve got to do it before I can say it.” — Brian Wacker

Watch: Woods, Levin interviews

As well as Woods hit it, however, he felt he could have had a “special” round if not for leaving about five putts “dead-center short.”

Still, he carried over his ball-striking from the end of Thursday’s round and hit a dozen greens in regulation for a second straight day. This time, he took six fewer putts and was 14-for-15 from inside 10 feet.

Two weeks ago, Woods switched from his usual Scotty Cameron putter to a Nike Method putter. He’s using a different version of the Nike putter he used at TPC Blue Monster at Doral, but Woods seemed happy with how the ball is coming off the face.

“It’s coming off very similar to my Cameron and releasing obviously how I like it,” Woods said.

One change from two weeks ago, though, is that Woods had the grooves shaved down even further because he felt the ball was coming off it too fast.

Wet greens early Friday, though, didn’t help — “I had a hard time getting the ball to the hole today,” Woods continued. “I was very surprised how slow these things were today. They must have soaked them pretty good last night because balls were holding, they were spinning back a little bit, very different than what we had yesterday.”

Of course those softer greens also helped Woods’ ball-striking. He was over 8 feet closer on his approach shots in the second round than he was in the first, when he teed off in the afternoon.

”With the greens as soft as they are, you can be a little more aggressive,” Woods said.

Just how aggressive we’ll find out with Woods in the best position he’s been in all year heading into the weekend.

“We are trying to build towards the first major, and that’s kind of how my game is,” Woods said. “It’s building and it’s coming.” — Brian Wacker

Watch: Early highlights

“Obviously I’ve dealt with a couple of disappointments,” said Marino, who has finished in the top 10 20 times and in the top 3 five times in his still relatively young career. “But every single one of those experiences, I felt like I’ve played pretty well. It’s just something was missing to kind of get me over the top; a good break here or a putt to drop in there, and that’s how it is out here.”

After a 67 Friday, Marino is again in contention. He made six birdies and just one bogey in the second round at Bay Hill and is 6 under for the week.

“Everybody is so good out here, that every shot is so precious, that to win a golf tournament, you can’t really afford to throw away any shots,” Marino continued. “Unfortunately the times that I’ve been in contention, I’ve just maybe thrown away one or two here and there, and you just can’t afford to do that.”

He certainly didn’t throw many away on Friday — though he did miss two putts from inside seven feet.

Still, Marino is in good position and hoping to erase a number of near-misses, including one from earlier this year at Pebble Beach, where he tied for second.

What has Marino learned from all the close calls?

”I put myself in those positions a number of times and if I wasn’t doing the right things, then I wouldn’t be in those positions to succeed or win a tournament,” he said. “Every time I put myself in a position like that, it gives me more confidence; no matter if I don’t win or if I don’t play well, it just gives me the confidence to know that if I put ‑‑ if I’m able to get there, I’m able to finish it off.

“If I have the game to do what it takes to get to that point, it’s just a matter of time for me until I just keep doing the same things and finish one off.” — Brian Wacker