Padraig Harrington Leads Bridgestone, Mickelson Six Shots Back

As memorable as 2008 was for Padraig Harrington, 2009 has been equally forgettable. Eight of 16 made cuts, zero top-10s and a changed swing that is far from the repetitive tempo that won consecutive major championships just a year ago.

It seems that Firestone Country Club is the place that all that bad mojo might go away. Friday, at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Harrington followed up his first round 64 with a 69 to lead by a shot over Tim Clark and two shots ahead of Scott Verplank. Harrington is 7-under at the halfway mark mostly because he's been incredible on the greens. Padraig only needed 26 and 27 putts the first two rounds to overshadow both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Woods has been '09 Woods all week, hitting minimal fairways but finding ways to keep himself in contention. A second round 70 has Tiger five shots back of Harrington on a course he's won six times. Just behind Woods is Mickelson, who is making his return to the PGA Tour after a six week hiatus. Lefty made an early eagle on Friday, sticking his second shot on the par-5 second hole to just a few feet, but couldn't get anything going on the back, making just one birdie all day.

If Harrington keeps this going, he could again be a favorite at the PGA Championship, something that wouldn't have even been discussed just two weeks ago. At the U.S. Open, Padraig missed the cut with consecutive 76s and couldn't break 73 on the weekend at Turnberry as he went for the three-peat at the British.

Now, just weeks after it looked as though the swing changes were a terrible idea, Harrington is atop a leaderboard for the first time in what seems like ages. With some big names lurking behind, it'll be quite the challenge for Harrington to win his first tournament since the PGA Championship last season.

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