Moving Day Came On Friday at The Quail Hollow Championship

Saturday is typically referred to as moving day on the PGA Tour, but, that didn’t stop a handful of players from making a substantial move up the leader board this afternoon.

Bubba Watson, who teed off on the 10th hole today, matched Woods first round score of 30 on Quail Hollow’s front nine en-route to a seven-under-par round of 65; Watson began the day tied for 43rd, and now finds himself tied for the tournament lead at the half-way mark.  

Goosen carded a second consecutive round of 68, and will join Watson in tomorrow’s final pairing.

Watson and Goosen were not the only ones climbing the leader board this afternoon.

Zack Johnson held the sole lead for a brief time this afternoon before bogeying his final three holes. Despite the disappointing finish, Johnson’s second round score of 67 was good enough to place him in a tie for third alongside George McNeill, Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk; all of whom will begin their third round just one-stroke behind the leaders.

Jim Furyk, who was one of those tied for 43rd with Watson at the start of the day, carded a near flawless round of 66 and jumped up 41 places on the leader board.

Camilo Villegas, who was also tied for 43rd after his opening round, quietly put together a solid round of 67 this morning and sits just two strokes off the lead.

No matter how tough the course conditions became this afternoon, with a field this strong, if you are not continually bettering your score there are guys out there who will quickly pass you by; which Woods and Mickelson certainly found out today.

Woods’ game was not nearly as sharp today as it was yesterday.

Woods began the day with a two-stoke lead, but was lucky to walk away with an even-par round of 72 this afternoon.

Woods needed just 27 putts today, compared to the 26 he had yesterday.

There was, however, one major difference today in comparison to yesterday. Woods hit more than 77% of green in regulation yesterday, and stood over a slew of birdie putts, today he hit just 44% of greens in regulation; meaning that many of his 27 putts were needed just to save par.

Woods severely struggled from tee-to-green all afternoon.

After carding a 65 in his opening round, it finally appeared that Woods had turned the corner and returned to his old dominant ways. 

Today, Woods looked more like that rusty player we saw at Doral and Augusta National than the player we saw during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Phil Mickelson had a pretty ordinary round of 71 himself, and fell several places down the leader board.

The stage has been set for what could very well turn out to be one intense battle this weekend. Five of the top-10 players on the leader board have won a major championship; four of whom have already won an event this year.

Woods and Mickelson are separated by just one-stroke, and easily within striking distance of the leaders.

Defending champion Anthony Kim is just three strokes off the lead and, as we clearly saw with his record setting 11 birdies at Augusta National three weeks ago, has the ability to move up the leader board at a very rapid pace.

The Quail Hollow Championship (formerly the Wachovia Championship) is typically regarded as one of the best PGA Tour events of the year outside of the majors and World Golf Championships.

So far this week, the Quail Hollow Championship once again seems to be living up to its revered reputation.