Barclays Golf 2013: Where Top Stars Sit on the Leaderboard after Day 2

Darkness suspended play at the 2013 The Barclays tournament on Friday, but that didn't stop some of golf's biggest stars from making a move up the leaderboard before the action was halted. 

Matt Kuchar completed just over half of his second round en route to a score of 10 under. With Webb Simpson and Gary Woodland (-9) nipping at his heels, Kuchar will take a one-shot lead into the weekend. 

Kuchar birdied No. 10 to take the outright lead, but he will have to finish the final five holes of his second round before officially starting Round 3 on Saturday. 

Elsewhere, 2013 major championship winners Adam Scott and Justin Rose are within striking distance at seven under, while Henrik Stenson and Jim Furyk headline a list of golfers who are four strokes off the pace. 

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy currently sit at five under. 

Keegan Bradley, who is tied with Rose, Scott and Rickie Fowler for fourth place, toppled a Liberty National course record on Friday by shooting an eight-under 63. Bradley is expecting the New Jersey crowd to come out in full force on Saturday:

As we prepare for the final two-plus rounds of The Barclays, here's a second look at where some of the top names in the sport stand.  

*For a complete look at the 2013 The Barclays leaderboard, visit PGATour.com. 

Round 2 Leaderboard

Where Top Stars Sit After Round 2

Tiger Woods (-5, T15)

Another tournament, another inconsistent Tiger. 

Woods no longer has an opportunity to win his 15th major championship in 2013, but there's plenty of hardware still on the line. 

Between the FedEx Cup trophy and PGA Tour Player of the Year honors, Woods would be foolish to pack it in over the final few months of the season based on his shortcomings in the early part of the season. 

The No. 1 player in the world got off to a great start on Friday, birdieing three of his first five holes. As you can see in this post from the Golf Channel, Woods was just two strokes off of the lead during the early part of his round:

He moved on to bogey three of the next six frames, but he did rebound to record an important birdie on No. 13. 

Woods was one of many who did not finish Round 2 on time. As noted by ESPN's Justin Ray, he'll have a putt to move four strokes behind Kuchar when play begins on Saturday morning:

Tiger's current Round 2 scorecard is a microcosm of his 2013 season. His putting and short game have been on point all year, but consistency and solid fairway driving have not been. Through 40 holes at The Barclays, Woods has hit just 40 percent of fairways in regulation. 

We'll see if he can make a leap up the leaderboard on Saturday by focusing on being more consistent. 

Adam Scott (-7, T4)

Scott has finished inside the top five at three of the four major championships this season.

He's in position to add another top-five finish to his mantle this weekend in New Jersey.

Starting on the back nine on Friday, Scott had a solid afternoon. He recorded two birdies and a bogey in his first nine holes before charging strongly down the front nine—the Aussie had three birdies and an eagle over his final six holes. 

He faltered a bit with a bogey on No. 9 but still managed to shoot a five-under 66 and move into a four-way tie with Rose, Fowler and Bradley for fourth on the leaderboard. 

According to Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman, Scott helped his case on multiple levels:

One of the best players on the PGA Tour this year, Scott has been clutch, consistent on big stages and downright fun to watch. He has a great chance to add another win to his resume and push for a FedEx Cup crown in the process. 

Phil Mickelson (-2, T42)

Lefty didn't do anything groundbreaking on Friday, but he didn't hurt himself much, either. 

The 2013 British Open champion finished with four birdies and two bogeys, good for a two-under finish that leaves him well off Kuchar's pace of 10 under. 

Mickelson was apparently tinkering with his putter grip during Round 2, and as noted by Golf Channel's Jason Sobel, he did so during the most profitable part of his afternoon. 

Between holes No. 3 and No. 8, where Sobel is referring to, Mickelson had three birdies opposite one bogey. He parred No. 9 to finish the round with a 69. 

If Mickelson wants to contend for the FedEx Cup, he'll need to start making the kind of push we've seen him make at majors year after year. 

As noted by ESPN's Stats & Info, Mickelson has been consistent in reaching the PGA Tour playoffs but has not yet done enough to knock down the door. 

A victory at The Barclays would certainly loosen the hinges. 

Between Woods, Mickelson, Scott and the rest of golf's stars, the competition at Liberty National is as fierce as it would be at a major. Very little separates the leaders from the rest of the field, usually a sign that a leaderboard shuffle is in the works over the weekend. 

Follow B/R's Ethan Grant (@DowntownEG) on Twitter.