HAMBURG, Germany, May 16 (UPI) -- Padraig Harrington left Tiger Woods in his wake for the second straight day and nobody else could keep pace, either, at the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open.
Harrington built a three-shot lead Friday midway through the tournament. Woods, seeking his third straight title at this event, was nine shots behind.
Woods actually was in danger of missing a cut for only the second time in his professional career after bogeys at the first and third holes, but he got his act together to shoot a 1-under-par 71.
Harrington, who played the first two rounds in the company of Woods, reached 13-under 131 with a 66.
"Paddy's going to be tough to catch," Woods said. "He drove it better today and putted the same."
"I am doing nicely. I'm very happy with my scores," Harrington said. "I thought the course was tougher than that, but I've gone with it. I was making birdies, so I thought I might as well keep on doing it."
As well as enjoying his golf, Harrington said he enjoyed chatting with Woods for two days. They had a chat on the 15th tee about musical tastes and eventually someone had to tell them that the fairway was clear.
First-round co-leader Retief Goosen leader dropped to second place with a 69. He again had as many birdies as Harrington (six) but threw in three bogeys as well.
Tied for third at 9-under 135 were Scot Andrew Coltart, Ulsterman Graeme McDowell, Swede Robert Karlsson and Australian Peter O'Malley.
Harrington struggled to find his focus at first, amid the possible distractions a round with Woods and his security team presents. But once he birdied the long sixth he was off and running.
Three more birdies from the ninth took him ahead, and after chipping dead at the 563-yard 15th, he chipped in at the next.
Woods was in the water for the second day in a row at the third as he competes for the first time since a disappointing 15th-place finish in his Masters defense last month.
Paul Casey, though, still had hopes of back-to-back victories after a 66 -- helped by the addition of clothing.
"I didn't dress properly yesterday and was freezing," said Casey, who was five behind Harrington. "Today, I put on as many layers as I could and played some good golf. I'm controlling the ball well and the biggest difficulty I've had is not knowing the course."
