Hero World Challenge 2016: Friday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Through 36 holes at the Hero World Challenge, Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama are deadlocked in a tie for first place at 12-under par. 

However, the second round will be remembered for the rise of Tiger Woods, who vaulted into contention at six-under par thanks to a stellar bogey-free 65. It's his best score in a round since the second round of the Wyndham Championship in August 2015. 

Here's the full leaderboard after Friday's action at the Hero World Challenge:

There was no shortage of terrific moments from Woods on Friday, such as this tee shot on the par-three 12th hole that landed right in front of the hole:

This was as close to vintage Woods as golf fans have seen since last year's Wyndham Championship, though by score to par (seven-under) he hasn't had a round this good since the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge in December 2013. 

Per ESPN, the key difference for Woods today compared to Thursday's first round occurred on the back nine:

Thanks to Woods' effort on Friday, Shooter McGavin found the appropriate GIF to convey the mood of the 40-year-old in his first event in 16 months:

Woods analyzed his performance after the round was over, highlighting a mistake on No. 8 that didn't snowball on him this time, per the PGA Tour:

As good as Woods was, Bubba Watson had the low round of the day with a 63. There was a time when it appeared he might flirt with a 59 after shooting 29 on the front nine, which included two eagles on No. 3 and 6. 

Per the PGA Tour, Watson's performance on par fives yielded nothing but positive results:

Moving day is traditionally on Saturday, but Watson, Woods and Brandt Snedeker (64) all made leaps into the top 10 on Friday after slow starts in Round 1. 

Yet that trio is still looking up at Johnson and Matsuyama, who both continued their strong and reliable performances. 

Johnson was fairly consistent throughout with identical scores of 33 on the front and back nine. The final hole of the day perfectly encapsulates why the reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year isn't going to give up that title in 2017 without a fight:

Last season was a huge turning point in Johnson's career. He finally got the major monkey off his back by winning the U.S. Open, while also posting top-10 finishes in the Masters and British Open. Missing the cut at the PGA Championship was one of the few things that went wrong for the 32-year-old, though he responded with three top-10 finishes to close out the season on a high note. 

Matsuyama missed out on an opportunity to hold the outright lead into Saturday with a bogey on No. 17, just his second mistake of the tournament after a double bogey in the first round. 

After the first round, Ron Sirak of Golf Digest offered a bold prediction about Matsuyama for this season:

Matsuyama has been on the cusp of joining golf's very top-tier players in the past. He has finished in the top seven of three major tournaments since the start of 2015, but missing the cut at the U.S. Open and British Open last year were setbacks. 

At 24 years old, Matsuyama's still got time before hitting his peak. Two more rounds of excellent golf could be the right way for him to jump-start a rise up the ranks, similar to what Johnson pulled off last season. 

All the focus on Saturday, though, is going to be on Woods to see if his strong finish in the second round was a sign of him putting things back together more rapidly than anyone would have predicted.