Woods and Harrington lead the way

Woods and Padraig Harrington started the final major of the year as they finished the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last week, locked in a duel at the top of the leaderboard with the American one shot ahead at five under par.

"I was just very comfortable with what I was doing," Woods said after playing the par-72, 7,674-yard Hazeltine, the longest course in major championship history.

"The golf course is set up very fair. It's difficult but as Paddy (Harrington) and I were saying, you don't (usually) see pins, six, seven, eight feet from the side. It's normally three and four.

"So you can make birdies and be a little more aggressive going at these flags. You don't have to be as conservative."

Having gone toe-to-toe at Firestone Country Club last Sunday in the final round, Woods and Harrington were paired once more for the first two rounds alongside Rich Beem, the 2002 champion when last the event visited Hazeltine.

The pair matched hole for hole initially, both sinking birdies at their third hole of the day, the 12th, but Woods stole a march on the 642-yard, par-five 15th, getting up and down from a bunker but at the next hole Harrington caught up thanks to another good iron shot to six feet.

Harrington had his only stutter of the day when he bogeyed the first but bounced straight back with a birdie at the next hole to return to two under.

Woods also birdied the second hole got to four under with a birdie at the par-five third, his 12th, Harrington joining him there thanks to another good iron shot at the sixth, from where he made a birdie three.

Woods added another birdie from three feet at the seventh, his 16th, to go into the outright lead at five under, finally separating himself from the Irishman to take the clubhouse lead in 67.