Greenbrier Classic 2015: Leaderboard Scores and Highlights from Friday

The low scores from Thursday's opening round at the Greenbrier Classic carried over to the second round, making for a crowded mess at the top of the leaderboard. There is a two-way tie for first between Jhonattan Vegas and Scott Langley.

Here's how the entire field looks after the first 36 holes:

All eyes were on Tiger Woods after he came out of the gate with a strong 66 on Thursday. He wasn't able to duplicate that success again, but the most encouraging sign is the 14-time major winner finished under par once again with a 69. 

Following his successful opening round, Woods said the key to his success was being able to drive the ball well, via the New York Post.

“Overall, if you drive the ball well here, you’re going to probably have at least seven shots with 9-iron or below into the greens, and you’re going to have to capitalize on that,” Woods said. “So far I’m one of those guys who did.”

Woods was able to keep hitting greens in regulation, as this graphic from PGA Tour Now shows:

One critical aspect of Woods' game that has been sorely missing is his ability with the irons, though it seemed to be working for him throughout this round, thanks to shots like this, via the PGA Tour:

Another area where Woods has shined this week, as noted by ESPN's Jason Sobel, is his ability to bounce back following a bad hole:

That streak did end when Woods bogeyed the 16th hole and hit par on the next hole, but he finished with a birdie on the par-three 18th hole, thanks to this first shot, via PGA Tour:

That was a huge hole for Woods, as it gave him back-to-back rounds under 70 for the first time since Friday and Saturday at the Masters. 

It's not time to start saying that Woods is back or all of his problems are behind him, but this is a strong first step and gives him an opportunity to compete for his first top-10 finish of the season. 

While Woods was great at getting to the green on Friday, he was looking up at Scott Langley. The American star hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation and ranks ninth in strokes gained with the putter (2.524), per the PGA Tour. 

When you combine those two stats, it's no wonder that Langley is in contention for his first career PGA Tour win. This is uncharted territory for the 26-year-old in 2015, having finished outside the top 10 in 22 events. 

Another golfer in contention who had a good Friday was David Hearn. He started on the back nine and had six birdies, making the turn with a 30 and "slowed" down on the final nine holes with just one birdie to go along with one bogey. 

It would be hard for anyone to be more erratic than Hearn has been this season. The 36-year-old Canadian has played in 23 events, making the cut 13 times and finishing inside the top 10 twice. In the last six events, he's either finished outside the top 30 (three times) or missed the cut (three times). 

Vegas put together his second straight low score after opening with a 66, firing a 65 on Friday. He was precise and exact on this day, not hitting a bogey to go along with five birdies. 

After the round, Vegas took to Twitter to politely boast about everything that went right for him in the second round:

While there is still a long way to go, Vegas is in a good spot to secure his first PGA Tour victory since the 2011 Bob Hope Classic. Yet, this isn't the kind of tournament where a player can take his foot off the gas pedal. 

Vegas and Langley are in a tenuous position. There are seven players tied for second place at eight-under par and six others at seven-under. A total of 75 players shot under par on Friday, so there are going to be more low scores coming. 

Expect moving day to more than live up to its hype when players tee off on Saturday. It wouldn't be a stunner to see someone outside the top 10 vault into the lead after the next 18 holes.