As Tiger struggles in his first stroke-play event in nearly a year, his top rival is thriving.
Phil Mickelson is atop the standings at Doral for the second day in a row after another scorching round on the greens, shooting a 6-under par 66 for a two-stroke lead going into the weekend.
Woods struggled to make puts again and shot a 2-under 70, leaving him 10 strokes behind the leader. The hundreds of drooling worshippers following El Tigre from hole-to-hole held their breath on every wayward drive and close-but-no-cigar putt. No one passed out waiting on the old Tiger to show up, but there were glimpses.
"I just never got anything going. It's frustrating, especially knowing the golf course can be had," Woods said during his post-round interview.
Tiger, who is coming off reconstructive knee surgery, shot an unimpressive 71 on Thursday and will need a major charge over the weekend to claim his fourth WGC-CA Championship. He's tied for 35th.
And while all the attention is fixed on Tiger and his new knee, Lefty has been content to shine in the shadows of the world's No. 1 golfer.
But Mickelson told reporters he would enjoy his sizzling play more if he had a Tiger chasing him.
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"It kind of sucks that he's not on the leaderboard," he said. "I would love to get him back for 2005. Hopefully he has a great round on Saturday."
Oooh! Those are fighting words.
