Tiger Woods caught fire on Friday at The Masters and has placed himself right in the thick of things heading into the weekend. After an opening round 71, Woods began his second round slowly, trading birdies and bogeys on the front nine in what looked to be another one of those days for Tiger. But his swing came to life on the back nine and Woods went flying up the Masters leaderboard, stringing together birdies and eating space as he chased down Rory McIlroy.
Woods finished with five birdies on the back nine after a 1-under 33 on the front nine. It was a feast for Woods, who opened the back with a birdie on No. 10, followed by three-straight birdies on Nos. 13 through 15. He closed the round with a superb shot out of the second cut on No. 18, leaving himself a knee-knocker for birdie. His stroke was pure and the putt found the bottom of the cup, giving him a 66 on the day and creating a buzz at The Masters.
His swing looked like it finally came around, and his approaches were beating down the flagstick during th back nine. But his putter was also key, as Woods drained putts from all kinds of places on the green, missing only a close one on 16 after nestling his approach on the par three. Whether his form holds remains to be seen, but he put on a show during the second round.
Woods is in a tie for fourth, joined by first round leader Alvaro Quiros and Geoff Ogilvy. Rory McIlroy and Jason Day are first and second on the leaderboard, with a third round pairing on the horizon. A full look at the leaderboard can be found at The Masters website.
For more on the tournament, check out our 2011 Masters StoryStream. For more on the tournament, check out SB Nation’s full 2011 Masters coverage, or head over to SB Nation Atlanta.