Tiger Woods at Masters 2013: Day 2 Analysis, Highlights and More

Tiger Woods' mantra for Friday at the 2013 Masters could have been "start strong and maintain." Woods is very much in the mix of things after 36 holes.

He made his move up the leaderboard with a solid performance on the front nine, sinking three birdies to make his initial charge.

His good start to the day on Friday is half the reason he's in the position he's in. Woods' success in Round 2 is equally attributed to his resolve and ability to maintain his composure during a trying back nine in which he failed to sink a single birdie but still managed to finish just two-over par.

He fought off less-than-perfect shots and bad luck in the second half of the day to finish at one-under for the round and three-under overall. 

Here are the current leaders...

...and this is Tiger's scorecard from Friday.

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	4	4	4	5	4	5	3	4	4
Score	4	5	4	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	5	4	6	3	4	5

Note: Birdies and eagles are in bold. Bogeys appear underlined.

Here is a look at the highlights of Tiger's performance on Friday.

Holes 1-3

Tiger remained even with the course through the first three holes. The disappointing aspect of this segment of Tiger’s day was his inability to capitalize on the par-five second hole.

For the second day in a row, Tiger couldn’t tame the first par five. There is no doubt that the way he handles the longer holes will determine how well he does overall.

Holes 4-6

After a short tee shot on the fourth hole, Tiger produced a nice pitch from just off the green to put himself in position to save par. He sunk a beautiful five-foot putt to walk away unscathed. This was big, as the fourth hole was difficult on Friday.

Tiger proceeded to make haste of the fifth hole and easily grab the birdie to highlight this part of his day.

Holes 7-9

Tiger came up with an unexpected birdie on the seventh hole.

The wind was swirling before his tee shot, but he still put himself in position to sink a difficult putt to gain a shot on the field.

Tiger was finally able to take advantage of a par five when he birdied the eighth hole. He had a decent shot at the eagle, but the birdie continued his rise up the leaderboard to close the front nine.

After a solid par on the ninth hole, Tiger went into the back nine with a share of the lead at five-under.

Holes 10-12

On the 10th hole, Woods salvaged par after leaving his first putt attempt a little short. It wasn't an easy putt by any stretch, but it was one he desperately needed.

These are the type of shots he needs to make to win the tournament. It won't make the highlight reel, but it kept a solid day of play intact.  

Against a bitter wind on the 11th hole, Tiger managed par, but he gave a good effort at a birdie on a difficult right-to-left putt. 

On the 12th hole, he fought off his first bad shot of the day. He found the bunker, but saved himself with a great short game to again come away with a solid par.

Holes 13-15

Tiger chose to be conservative on his second shot on the 13th hole. He probably decided to go this route because he was already holding a share of the lead. It set up a difficult putt on his fourth shot.

He missed it, but still dropped in his fifth straight par.

The 14th hole was yet another example of par preservation. Tiger went long on his second shot, but a pretty chip attempt helped him recover. He again scrambled to stay even with the hole and remain tied for the lead with three others.

On the 15th hole, the golf gods were unkind. On the third shot over the water, Tiger was a little too accurate. His shot hit the flag stick and rolled back into the pond.

He had to take a drop and re-hit the shot. Woods nearly recreated the amazing effort—only without the unfortunate luck. He settled for a bogey, but it was a win considering the hand he was dealt.

Holes 16-18

Woods again broke even on the 16th and 17th holes, but a long second shot on the 18th hole forced him into an unfortunate bogey.

He finished the day just three shots behind current leader Jason Day.

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