Albany, Bahamas 05 December 2019: There was far less wind in Albany on Thursday. The players took advantage, making their move up the order. Among the most notable movers was Tiger Woods, who made his presence felt with a 66. Jon Rahm also shot a 66, climbing into a tie for third with Henrik Stenson. The Swede shot 67 in the second round, while the overnight co-leader Gary Woodland had to claw his way back after consecutive bogeys at 14 & 15. Woodland courted trouble on the back nine, but recovered in splendid style as he shot three straight birdies from the 16th. Patrick Reed played his heart out on the second nine as he ended the day at 12-under with a second straight 66.
Woods was bogey free on Thursday. After marching serenely through the front nine, punctuated by a lone birdie at the par-5 sixth hole. But he roared loud and clear on the return stretch, aided by an eagle on the 11th and three other birdies, polishing the course with some impressive golf. At 6-under through 36 holes, Woods is tied with Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler. Both men have a pair of 69s to their name.
Woodland was happy with a 69 that was down largely to those three birdies at the end. “I actually played really well today. Got a little unfortunate where the ball ended up there on 14 and let the bad lie kind of get the best of me there for two holes, which is frustrating,” said Woodland. “But outside of that, I played great. It’s nice to finish the way I did because I played a lot better than I scored today. So dinner will taste a little bit better birdieing the last three and looking forward to going out and playing the weekend.”
Reed began the day with a share of the lead with Woodland. Playing some clean golf through the way out, he set himself apart with birdies on the 6th and 9th holes. Five more birdies on the back nine gave him a second 66 and a three stroke advantage over Woodland, who is one ahead of Stenson and Rahm. The captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup, Reed is on a nice roll. He has three top-10s in his last five starts. There have been no bogeys on the front nine in two days here and Reed is 8-under on the par-5 holes.
“Today was a steady day. I hit the ball not as straight off the tee, but was able to keep the ball in the fairway, and from there I was able to hit some quality iron shots and make some putts,” said Reed. “I think that’s the biggest thing around here is you’ve got to make putts.”
Rahm was in spectacular form too, bogey free on Thursday, just as Woods. He started and end the day with bogeys in the opening round, but there was no stutter today. He made three birdies on the way out before adding an eagle at the par-5 15th hole. Rahm put the finishing touches on his card with a birdie at the 16th to move up to 8-under.
