WGC-Cadillac Championship 2016: Friday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

It would be hard to find a more compelling leaderboard than the one shaping up at the WGC-Cadillac Championship entering the weekend.

Following Friday's second round at Trump National Doral in Miami, Australian Adam Scott leads a loaded leaderboard at 10 under, while Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy are tied in second place at eight under, with Bubba Watson (-6) and Phil Mickelson (-5) lurking. 

Scott was grooving from the start Friday, as he maintained the momentum he established Thursday. With a 68 already to his name, he tallied birdies on four of the first seven holes and finished with eight overall, including a calm stroke on 17, as the PGA Tour on Twitter relayed: 

Among Scott's conversions on the front nine were a 26-foot putt on the par-five first and a 16-foot putt on the par-four sixth.  

Scott's back nine performance wasn't quite as special, but a birdie-birdie response to a bogey on the 14th allowed him to hold off his talented challengers and enter Saturday with a 36-hole lead.  

Mickelson started his day in unspectacular fashion with four consecutive pars, but a run of four straight birdies spanning holes Nos. 5-8 shot him straight up the leaderboard and into prime position as he made the turn for the back nine. 

However, it was hardly a perfect round for Mickelson, as he finished with an even score of 72. 

Lefty missed several chances to pad his lead with some uncharacteristically shaky putting on the first three holes of the back nine, with one of his more egregious missteps coming after he spun home a brilliant approach shot on the par-five 12th, as the PGA Tour on Twitter documented:

Mickelson then unraveled a bit on the par-three 15th when his tee shot found the water. The 45-year-old proceeded to card a double-bogey and cede his spot atop the leaderboard to Scott. 

Playing in Friday's premier group, McIlroy bounced back from a shaky one-under showing Thursday to post a seven-under 65, while playing partners Jordan Spieth (-3) and Jason Day (+2) finished with scores of par and two over for the round, respectively. 

McIlroy debuted a reformed left-hand-low putting grip Thursday that produced some inconsistent results, but he appeared more comfortable with the technique Friday, as he posted a whopping five birdies on the front nine before closing out his round with a three on the back, including this one on the 12th, documented by the PGA Tour on Twitter:

Golf Channel's Justin Ray offered a statistical look at how McIlroy's putting improved between Round 1 and Round 2: 

Bunched up with McIlroy and the rest of a talented pack is Watson, who has posted back-to-back rounds of 69 to sit at six under entering the weekend.

And as Ray pointed out, he is in a class of his own when it comes to scoring at the WGC-Cadillac Championship:

Not to be forgotten was the reigning WGC-Cadillac champion in Johnson, who rebounded from an opening-round 72 to finish eight under and move into striking distance with moving day on deck. 

Johnson's day was, in a word, efficient. He finished with eight birdies and no bogeys, and his familiarity with Doral's surroundings was evident throughout. 

Now he will seek to do what few men before him have proved capable of: repeat. 

According to Ray, Tiger Woods and Raymond Floyd are the only players in history to capture championships at Doral in consecutive years. However, that esteemed group may well include Johnson by the time Sunday rolls around. 

The 31-year-old had the most productive round of any player Friday, and his 26-spot jump up the leaderboard has put another title in his sights. 

Blowing by Scott and staving off competition from some of the world's most prolific players won't be easy, but Johnson has proved he can be the man to beat at Doral.   

Post-Round Reaction

"I made a lot of good putts today, a lot of good par putts, momentum putts, that kept the round going," McIlroy said, per Golf Digest. "I feel like the catalyst for the round was the par putt on four to say [sic] myself form going over par for the day. After that I made four birdies in a row."

According to ESPN.com's Jason Sobel, McIlroy discussed the apprehension he harbored about making the change to a left-hand-low grip: 

"Overall, it was a lot of good stuff," Scott said of his round, per the Associated Press (via GolfChannel.com). "Enough quality shots and enough quality putts to negate a couple of mistakes out there, but they can easily happen on this golf course. So I'm glad there was enough of the good stuff to keep me up on top and kind of setting the pace after halfway."

Elsewhere, Mickelson didn't appear deterred by his poor performance on the back nine. 

"I'll be fresh and ready for the weekend," he said, per GolfChannel.com's Rex Hoggard. "I feel like I'm driving the ball extremely well and my iron game is sharp, even though that back nine wasn't what I wanted. It's going to be a good weekend."