Harrington leads at halfway

A 69 from Padraig Harrington kept the field at bay as he maintained his lead at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Three-time major winner Harrington had produced his best round of the year with a 64 at Firestone on Thursday to lead by two from Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng, Tim Clark of South Africa and American Scott Verplank.

The Irishman picked up where he left off as he began his second round well, moving to seven under par after five holes.

He bogeyed the par-four eighth, the only blemish on his round, but rebounded at the 13th courtesy of a birdie from 30 feet.

"Shooting that score yesterday gave me a great chance for the tournament," Harrington said.

"Anything under 70 from here on in is going forward so I'm quite pleased to have shot 69."

The Dubliner admitted his second round had been less aggressive than his first but added: "I normally play the first rounds cautiously.

"I was a bit cautious today. I was more worried about my misses rather than having that sort of confident attitude and going after a few more pins.

"You know that if you shortside yourself you're going to have difficulty getting up and down. But you've got to make some birdies.

"My short game has been good enough, so I probably should be a little bit more aggressive over the weekend."

Harrington will take a one-shot lead into the third round on Saturday, with Clark on six under following a 68.

Verplank matched Harrington with a 69 that left him at five under while Marksaeng moved into a share of the lead at seven under before falling off the pace on the way to a which left him at four under.

Also four under are Americans Steve Stricker, who carded a 69, and Jerry Kelly, who hit a 65.

In a field reduced to 79 players following the withdrawal through injury of Paul Casey during the first round, Spain's Alvaro Quiros made a big move into contention with a 65 to move from two over to three under.

American Woody Austin was also on three under following a 68, as was former Masters champion Zach Johnson.

World number one Tiger Woods, a six-time winner at Firestone, returned a 70 to stay at two under par, while playing partner Sergio Garcia carded a 72 to fall back to level par.

Four birdies in his first 12 holes moved England's Oliver Wilson to five under par for the week but three bogeys on his back nine left the Ryder Cup player with a 69, two under for the tournament.

Open champion Stewart Cink and US Open winner Lucas Glover also finished two under.

World number two Phil Mickelson added a 69 to his opening 70 while English duo Nick Dougherty and Lee Westwood both shot 71 to move to level par.

Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke, the 2003 champion, will start round three at one over following a 70.

England's Ian Poulter slumped to a four-over 74 that left him at one over while Clarke's compatriots Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell were also over par, as were England's Ross Fisher, Luke Donald and Justin Rose and Ireland's Shane Lowry.

Rose was the best of that bunch on Friday, his 68 moving him to three over alongside Vijay Singh, who saw his title defence go cold with a 73.

Fisher's 71 took him to one over, Donald was at two over following a 72 and McDowell finished at four over after a 71. McIlroy shot 70 to stay at five over and Lowry hit a second successive 78.

Clark had a chance to take the outright lead at the par-five second hole, his 11th, but missed a 10ft birdie putt and then bogeyed the third.

Marksaeng dropped shots at the 14th and 18th on his way to a 70 to finish four under.

Robert Allenby was also four under with three to play while Jerry Kelly, having started the day at one over par, was five under for his second round with four holes remaining.

World number two Phil Mickelson had opened with a 70 and, after an eagle at the par-five second, was one under for the week after 11 holes.

Vijay Singh was two over as his title defence went cold with two bogeys on the first six holes of his back nine, while playing partner Rory McIlroy also bogeyed the 15th to slip back to five over.

Ross Fisher was one over for the week with two to play, Donald two over with three to play and his playing partner Graeme McDowell four over.