AKRON, August 5, 2011 (AFP) - Australia's Adam Scott posted an even-par 70 on Friday to maintain a share of the second-round lead alongside surging Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley and Ryan Moore at the Bridgestone Invitational.
Scott couldn't match his blistering eight-under first round, but his effort at Firestone Country Club, which included two birdies and two bogeys, was enough to keep him among the top quartet on eight-under 132 on a crowded leaderboard at the elite World Golf Championships event.
"Today was a little tougher. I started really solid, but couldn't make anything on the front nine -- my front nine," said the Australian, who teed off on 10 and parred his first 10 holes.
"Then I just hung a couple drives out to the right, so I was in the rough and scrambling a little bit coming in," added Scott, who balanced birdies at the par-five second hole and par-four eighth with bogeys at four and nine.
"It was fairly solid other than that -- 70 around this golf course is never really that bad."
Scott wasn't discouraged that he couldn't match his torrid opening score.
"The last time I shot 62 was probably a long time ago, so am I going to expect to do it two days in a row? I don't think so," Scott said. "It's a hard golf course, and if you're just a little off, you get quite severely penalized."
Fowler climbed up the leaderboard with a 64. Bradley posted a 65 and Moore a 66.
Australia's Jason Day, who started the day one shot off the lead, stayed there with a 70. He was joined on 133 by Scotland's Martin Laird, who posted a 67, and Sweden's Robert Karlsson, who fired a 65.
A dozen players are within three shots of the lead entering the weekend -- but they didn't include Tiger Woods.
The 14-time major champion, a seven-time winner at Firestone who is returning after an injury layoff of almost three months, couldn't get anything going on the greens and settled for a one-over 71.
That left him seven strokes off the lead, sharing 36th place on 139.
"I didn't putt as well as I did yesterday, and consequently, I just never got the round going," Woods said.
Fowler had eight birdies and holed out from the fairway for an eagle at the par-four third. His roller-coaster round included just five pars.
"A lot of good things came out of today," said Fowler, who was last year's US PGA Tour Rookie of the Year but who remains in search of his first victory. "Building some confidence going into the weekend."
Rookie Bradley, nephew of LPGA Hall of Famer Pat Bradley and winner of the Byron Nelson Championship this season, was thrilled to be in the hunt.
"I had Luke Donald behind me, Phil Mickelson a few groups behind me," Bradley said. "I mean, it's something that I dream about since I was two years old. It's kind of happening in front of my eyes, which is a weird feeling to describe.
"But it's spectacular. I just can't express how much fun I'm having out there."
Second-round scores on Friday in the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational (USA unless noted; par 70):
132 - Ryan Moore 66-66, Rickie Fowler 68-64, Adam Scott (AUS) 62-70, Keegan Bradley 67-65
133 - Martin Laird (GBR) 66-67, Robert Karlsson (SWE) 68-65, Jason Day (AUS) 63-70
134 - Fredrik Jacobson (SWE) 68-66, Brandt Snedeker 66-68
135 - Hennie Otto (RSA) 69-66, Nick Watney 65-70, Ryo Ishikawa (JPN) 67-68
136 - Gary Woodland 70-66, Heath Slocum 71-65, David Toms 68-68, Steve Stricker 71-65, Lucas Glover 68-68, D.A. Points 66-70, Stewart Cink 66-70, Rory McIlroy (NIR) 68-68
137 - Peter Hanson (SWE) 70-67, Richard Green (AUS) 69-68, Scott Stallings 69-68, Luke Donald (GBR) 68-69, Charley Hoffman 68-69, Francesco Molinari (ITA) 73-64
138 - Kyung-tae Kim (KOR) 66-72, Zach Johnson 70-68, Bo Van Pelt 68-70, Edoardo Molinari (ITA) 72-66, Mark Wilson 69-69, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 66-72, Lee Westwood (GBR) 67-71, Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 68-70, Aaron Baddeley (AUS) 68-70
139 - Martin Kaymer (GER) 69-70, Bubba Watson 69-70, Tiger Woods 68-71
140 - Ian Poulter (GBR) 71-69, Matt Kuchar 71-69, Sergio Garcia (ESP) 68-72, Retief Goosen (RSA) 72-68, Hunter Mahan 71-69, Phil Mickelson 67-73
141 - Padraig Harrington (IRL) 71-70, Justin Rose (GBR) 71-70, Arjun Atwal (IND) 68-73, Jonathan Byrd 67-74
142 - Pablo Larrazabal (ESP) 66-76, Anders Hansen (DEN) 72-70, Matteo Manassero (ITA) 70-72, Dustin Johnson 73-69, Alexander Noren (SWE) 69-73, Jim Furyk 73-69, Ernie Els (RSA) 71-71, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 71-71
143 - Jhonattan Vegas (VEN) 73-70, Simon Dyson (GBR) 77-66, Rory Sabbatini (RSA) 66-77, Brendan Steele 69-74, Robert Allenby (AUS) 70-73, Yong-eun Yang (KOR) 72-71, Graeme McDowell (NIR) 71-72
144 - Harrison Frazar 72-72, Bill Haas 72-72, Sean O'Hair 72-72, Paul Casey (GBR) 73-71
145 - K.J. Choi (KOR) 74-71, Jae-bum Park (KOR) 73-72, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 74-71, Jeff Overton 72-73
146 - Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP) 73-73, Yuta Ikeda (JPN) 74-72
147 - Alvaro Quiros (ESP) 73-74
149 - Stuart Appleby (AUS) 73-76
151 - Darren Clarke (NIR) 77-74