Padraig Harrington carded his lowest round of the year to take the lead at the halfway stage of the Transitions Championship in Florida.
Irishman claims halfway lead in Flordia
Padraig Harrington carded his lowest round of the year to take the lead at the halfway stage of the Transitions Championship in Florida.
Ireland's three-time major winner shot a six-under-par 65 for an eight-under total, which puts him one shot clear of four players at the Copperhead course in Palm Harbor.
With first-round leader Garrett Willis crashing to a 77 and making the cut with only a stroke to spare at level par, Harrington heads into the closing 36 holes one ahead of Americans Jim Furyk and Bubba Watson, Swede Carl Pettersson and defending champion Retief Goosen.
But it was a day to forget for World Match Play champion Ian Poulter, who bowed out on four-over after a second successive 73 in his final Tour event before the Masters.
Poulter needed to play the last six holes in level par to make it through, but went into the lake at the short 13th and finished with two more bogeys.
Harrington, without a Tour win since he won back-to-back majors at The Open and US PGA two years ago, carded seven birdies in his classy round of 65.
Predictable
"I'm capable of winning in the form I'm in," said Harrington. "Am I in my best form? No. Am I getting there? Yes.
"You put yourself out there. That tests where your game is at. Some weeks the results happen and you get a win and some weeks they won't.
"I've played tournaments where I've played great coming down the stretch and not won and I've played tournaments where I've played average and won.
"Because I don't know so many of the shots here I have to keep hitting at the flags and it seems to be working quite nicely.
"The greens are superb and the wind was predictable, so it was a good morning for scoring."
English pair Ross Fisher and Luke Donald are four-under and three-under respectively, with Scot Martin Laird one shot further back.
Greg Owen survived the cut on the limit by parring the last 13 holes, but Brian Davis missed by one after a closing bogey.
Justin Rose, 59th in the world and looking to climb into the top 50 in time for The Masters, kept that hope alive by improving five strokes on his opening 73 and moving to one under.
