WGC-Bridgestone Invitational 2016: Friday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

The 2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational became a tense battle during Friday's second round, with Jason Day vaulting into the lead at four under par.

William McGirt started the day in the lead at six under par but followed up a terrific first round with a four-over 74 that dropped him to two under overall.

Fortunately for the 37-year-old, no one else in contention after the first round had a good enough day to create separation.

Here's the leaderboard after 36 holes in Akron, Ohio:

McGirt carried his lead to the 18th hole at four under par, but a double-bogey six pushed him out of the top spot.

Justin Ray of Golf Channel noted early in the round that McGirt would join an exclusive club with a win this weekend after his triumph at the Memorial Tournament in June:

The bitter ending for McGirt opened the door for Day to take control, as he has done often in 2016.

Day's masterful season has continued in Ohio, as he ended the second round with a lot of momentum after shooting a 69. He started to look locked in late in the round with shots like this on No. 17 to set up a birdie, via the PGA Tour:

After the first round, Day admitted that he was trying to keep up the intensity in an event that doesn't feature high stakes since there are no cuts, per ESPN.com's Jason Sobel:

"

Some guys are happy to be in the field and stuff like that, but if you just give it that extra little bit, you can kind of pick up a cheap one. Obviously, this is not cheap, it's just like there's less people here, you have less people to try and beat, and if you can just really focus down and mentally prepare for that, I think you can definitely pick one up.

"

David Lingmerth had a good day, tying for the lowest score of the second round with a three-under 67. He played well at the U.S. Open two weeks ago, finishing 12th overall with a score of three over par. 

The 28-year-old does have one previous PGA Tour victory, at the Memorial Tournament last year, but he's had only one top-10 finish in 2016. 

Phil Mickelson had a nice rebound Friday, firing a 70 to head into moving day at three over par. He looked lost Thursday, so this was a positive step for Lefty.

Golf instructor Mark Immelman noted Mickelson hit one shot in the second round that few other golfers in the world would even attempt:

Mickelson is still looking for that one low score to put him in contention, but no one has pulled away from the field.

Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, who played in the same group Friday, each struggled in the second round after finishing under par Thursday. 

Spieth appeared to be building momentum for a big day after ending the first round with four straight birdies that pushed his score to two under par. His short game was the savior yesterday, as he needed just 21 putts to get through the round.

That trend carried over early in the second round with this putt on No. 2, via the PGA Tour:

That was the only time Spieth found a red number Friday, though. He did go on a run of 10 straight pars, but bogeys on Nos. 13 and 16 left his score at 71 for the day and one under par for the tournament. 

Johnson was all over the map Friday, shooting a three-over 73 that included six bogeys and three birdies.

This has been the pattern for the U.S. Open champion all season, as he has opened each of his last five tournaments with a score in the 60s, and his second-round total has been higher each time, though Friday marked just the second time during this stretch that his score has been over 70. 

Day's ascent, which largely came about through mediocre play from everyone else, should have the rest of the field concerned. He's finished outside the top 10 only once in his last four events and has three PGA Tour wins this season.

The good news for players such as Lingmerth and McGirt is that Day is still in their sights. They need fast starts Saturday to force Day to keep making shots. It's been a tournament-wide struggle for a lot of players thus far, so look for more turnover atop the leaderboard Saturday.

Post-Round Reaction

Despite ending Friday in the lead, Day was not happy with how his round ended after bogeying the final hole to decrease his lead to one shot. 

"I was very cross with myself when I was walking off," Day said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "The great thing is that once I do silly things like that on 18, I soon forget about it, and I just need to start focusing on tomorrow's round."

Day wasn't entirely down on himself, adding that he knows he's "putting good because I'm holing putts" and that he just needs to "give myself the opportunities, I'm hoping that I can stretch that lead over 54 holes..."

McGirt noted in the same AP report that the weather in Akron, particularly the blustery conditions, caused him a lot of problems: "Trying to figure out the wind was impossible. It was a lot of down off the left with a touch of in off the right. I mean, who knows?"

With just nine players currently under par, things remain wide open for the weekend. Day has the edge because of his track record, but if the weather continues to be an issue, one of the players off the top of the leaderboard will be able to make a surge.