PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., March 29 (UPI) -- Padraig Harrington of Ireland maintained a two-stroke lead over three others Saturday morning after 27 players completed the second round of the $6.5 million Players Championship.
Before rain suspended play Friday, Harrington took advantage of the soft ground on the Sawgrass TPC to compile six birdies and two bogeys en route to a 4-under-par 68. His 9-under 135 put him two ahead of Davis Love (67), Skip Kendall (69) and defending champion Craig Perks (69).
Two-time champion Fred Couples, Rocco Mediate, Jay Haas and Adam Scott are three shots behind Harrington. Chad Campbell completed his round Saturday and joined those four.
Tiger Woods didn't have much luck on the greens Friday, lipping-out twice en route to a 70 that left him seven strokes back.
Ranked 10th in the world, Harrington had two months off from mid-December until mid-February. He wasn't idle, though, working very hard on his game.
Among 68 players who didn't complete the first round Thursday, Harrington had to play more than 26 holes Friday. He posted a first-round 67 to share the lead with Couples before seeking treatment from his chiropractor for a sore hip in the short break between rounds.
Perks didn't have the most ideal start Friday when his caddie did not turn up for the completion of the first round. Rodney Erb was stopped for speeding on his way to the course and was jailed when a routine computer check revealed he had an outstanding bounced check.
Even though Erb spent barely two hours in jail, Perks used a chaplain of all people to caddie for the final five holes of his first round. He then used a regular PGA Tour caddie for the second round, saying that Erb would be back on the bag Saturday.
For the second day in a row, Woods wasn't at the top of his game, but it makes for a lot more exciting weekend when he gives the leaders a head start.
The cut fell at 144 and several prominent golfers did not make it, including Fiji's Vijay Singh, Scotland's Colin Montgomerie and David Toms.
