Dufner Takes Transition Lead

Jason Dufner and Padraig Harrington felt cautious at times for different reasons Friday in the Transitions Championship. They also had a far different outcome.

Harrington was 12 shots worse than his course-record 61 in the opening round.

Dufner, trying to play more conservatively when he doesn't feel confident about attacking, made it through another round at Innisbrook without a bogey and posted a second straight 5-under 66 to take a two-shot lead into the weekend.

"Pretty stress-free round," Dufner said.

Harrington didn't feel as though he hit the ball much worse in a round of 73. He realised it would be difficult to back up his record score on the Copperhead course with another low score, and it crept into his putting, especially on the back nine.

"I'm happy with my game, but when you shoot a good score, it's hard to match the next day," Harrington said. "When you're leading the tournament, it's hard not to be a little bit cautious, and I think at times I was on the greens."

William McGirt had a 68 and joined Harrington at 8-under 134.

Luke Donald, who can return to No. 1 in the world with a win, had a 68 and was in the large group at 7-under 135 that included Puerto Rico Open winner George McNeill.

Harrington was still leading when he hit weak putts, all of them for birdie from inside 15 feet, on three straight holes. It caught up with him on the sixth, when he marked his ball but failed to go through his routine and wound up missing a 15-inch par putt. Then, he three-putted the seventh hole and suddenly found himself two shots behind.

The good news was that Harrington was still in the mix.

"I didn't do too much damage today," Harrington said. "It wouldn't have been the end of the world if I didn't have those two three-putts. It could be OK. But the great thing his, having shot a good score yesterday, I felt that if I played the best golf on the weekend, I would be the winner. I'm still in good position."

Harrington figured he would either post another good score and have a chance to run away from the field, or get an ordinary score and have to work hard on the weekend. It turned out to be the latter. Twelve players were separated by four shots.

Dufner thought he would need another good round to get into contention. Being in the lead was a bonus.

"You have to do a little bit of chasing, and you're kind of hoping in the back of your mind he comes back to you a little bit," Dufner said. "I don't know why that's so hard. I've dealt with it; every player has dealt with it. You shoot a great number and you feel like you're going to shoot under par every day, and you kind of back up the next day. That seems to be like a law of averages thing."

Dufner just did his own thing.

He handled the par 5s, making three birdies. He made birdie putts of 15 feet on the third hole and 25 feet on the ninth. And he never had to sweat over any par putts.

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Dufner is 0-for-159 on the PGA TOUR, and as much as he follows golf, no one had to tell him that he's the only player from the top 50 in the world ranking who has not won on any major tour. Dufner is at No. 39, and he realises he's there for a reason. He is playing good golf, doing just about everything right except winning.

His best chance last year was at the PGA Championship, when he dropped shots down the stretch and lost in a playoff to Keegan Bradley at Atlanta Athletic Club. Dufner feels his time is coming, and he even decided to change the way he plays.

As much as he likes to keep the ball in play, an aggressive side of him wants to fire at every flag.

"It's a bit of a mind game with me," he said. "I tend to be a little too aggressive at times and get myself in trouble. After last week, I kind of thought about it. If I felt comfortable or if I had a good number, I would play aggressive. But I think when I was a little bit uncomfortable or had a bad number with a club, I would try to find the fat of the green and maybe make a par from 30 feet."

A good example of that came on the par-3 13th, with the pin on the front. He hit 6-iron to 30 feet for a par. A 7-iron would have worked, but missing slightly with that club might put him in the water.

As for being the lone guy in the top 50 without a win?

"It's a good thing that I've played that well to be ranked that high without a victory, because the victories really jump you up in the world rankings," he said. "It's a little disappointing that I have not won yet, but there's a lot of events this year and next year and the year after."

Jim Furyk, who won two years ago at Innisbrook, felt similar to Harrington. He was playing better than his score. He had to settle for a 70 on Friday and was in the group at 6-under 136, along with Sergio Garcia, John Senden and Kenny Perry, the only grandfather in the field at age 51.

Harrington also built some optimism for Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, both of whom are trying to qualify for the Masters. They were in the group just five shots behind. Goosen is just outside the top 50 in the world ranking, while Els would have to win at Innisbrook to get into the top 50 -- and a win makes him eligible, anyway.

Harrington in Lowest Score Ever

Padraig Harrington knew he was playing better golf than his scores indicated. He just wasn't expecting the lowest official score of his life, a 10-under 61 to set the course record Thursday in the Transitions Championship.

Harrington took a step toward ending 17 months and 37 tournaments without a victory when he made 10 birdies, including a 75-footer late in his round, to build a three-shot lead at Innisbrook.

"I play better on the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday than I do on the Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday," Harrington said. "I'm trying to stay patient. I know my game is good. One of the hardest things is to wait with confidence. I'm feeling like things are ready to happen. Obviously, today it showed the potential. Today is a peak. But we'll wait and see what happens over the next number of weeks."

With a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th -- how could it not go in the way his day was going? -- he broke by one shot the record at the esteemed Copperhead Course at Innisbrook that had been held by Mark Calcavecchia in 2007 and Jeff Sluman in 2004.

Harrington's previous best was a 62 three times, most recently at the 2009 Portugal Masters. He also had a 61 at the Nedbank Challenge in 2001, an unofficial event. It was not recognized as a course record because of preferred lies.

Not only was Harrington three shots better than anyone else, it was nearly 8.7 shots better than the course average.

Will Claxton birdied the 18th for a 64, a score that would have put him atop the leaderboard at Innisbrook the last seven years. John Senden, coming off a 65 in the final round at Doral, was in a large group at 66 that included William McGirt and 51-year-old Kenny Perry, making a rare appearance on the PGA TOUR.

World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship winner Justin Rose and Luke Donald were at 67, while defending champion Gary Woodland opened with a 68.

Did anyone see a 61 at Innisbrook?

"I did. I watched it," said Geoff Ogilvy, who played alongside Harrington. "On the first tee, I didn't see 61. But after you see it done ... the only really, completely unreasonable birdie was on the 17th. There was never any stress."

That birdie putt on the 17th was from 75 feet, and Harrington said it looked good for the last 15 feet.

But if there was one putt that reminded him how everything was falling his way, it was the 6-foot birdie on the 16th, atop a crown in such a way that Harrington wasn't sure which way it was going to break. He guessed right.

"You're really guessing at which way it's going to go, but on your day, it goes the right way," he said. "I guarantee you there will be a lot of players having a frustrating day, telling you they hit it exactly where they wanted and it missed."

With a wedge into 15 feet on the last hole, he had no doubt.

"When it's your day, I could have turned my back on the hole and I would have holed the putt on the last," Harrington said. "That's just the way it is when things are going for you."

Not much has been going well for the three-time major champion since he last won the Johor Open in October 2010. Though he tinkers endlessly with his swing, Harrington had trouble scoring.

He has been working with Pete Cowen, and in January began seeing Dave Alred, whom he refers to as a practice coach. Alred also works with Luke Donald as the Englishman rose to No. 1 in the world, though he is best known in rugby circles as a kicking coach for the likes of Jonny Wilkinson.

Harrington said it's all about practicing with a purpose, which he has done. He can't work much harder. The toughest part of this has been waiting for it all to come together, which is exactly what happened on a gorgeous day near the Gulf coast of Florida, with only a mild breeze and minimal rough.

The longest putt for par he had all day was about 4 feet on the third hole. Harrington hit so many quality shots that he allowed the thought of a 59 to creep into his head. He was 6 under through 10 holes and had an easy, uphill birdie putt from 6 feet on the par-5 11th.

"I got over it and started thinking, 'If I hole this, I'm 7-under par, seven holes to go, I only need to make five more birdies,'" he said. "I just got totally out of where I should have been, hit a bad putt and missed. But if anything, it kind of got the 59 out of my head. So as much as I did choke, it made it easier for the rest of the holes."

Harrington said he never shot lower than 60 as an amateur, back when he went at every flag, before he accrued what he called "fear and damage in my system." He did have a 61 at the Nedbank Challenge a decade ago, though it didn't count as a course record because it was preferred lies that day.

Stewart Cink and David Toms were among those at 67, while Sergio Garcia had a 68.

Innisbrook wasn't easy for everyone. Masters champion Charl Schwartzel opened with a 76, while Matt Kuchar had a 73.

Harrington, who rose to No. 3 in the world three years ago, has fallen to No. 90. He remains eligible for the majors, though the reality of how far he has dropped was evident over the past month. He missed the Match Play Championship for the first time since 1999, and he was not eligible for the World Golf Championship at TPC Blue Monster.

"It's not a wake-up call because it's not like I could be working any harder, or trying any harder," he said. "You feel like you're good enough. But if your performances are not good enough, you have no else to blame. It is a little frustrating. But I'm working, like everybody else -- working to keep a good attitude and be patient and let it happen and look at the positives."

That's never been a problem. Even during this slump, Harrington rarely lets a pro-am round go by when he doesn't invite his amateur partners to lunch. He endorses the Special Olympics, and took time Wednesday to meet with one of the athletes, whom he described as being "just happy with life, and it's infectious."

Asked about the low point during this slump, Harrington shook his head.

"I'm a professional golfer," he said. "There isn't a low point in being a professional golfer. I mean, let's be realistic.