Woods duel lifts Harrington to new heights

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Woods held a one-stroke overnight lead over playing partner and defending champion Harrington at Hazeltine National in Minnesota as they headed into Friday night's second round at 7.45pm BST. World number one Woods shot a bogey-free 67 four days after reeling in Harrington's three-shot, 54-hole lead at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational to win for the second week in a row and for the fifth time this year.

"He pushes you a little bit more, and you know, you have to go for your shots if you want to compete," said Harrington.

It is Woods' form and a legacy of 14 major victories that Ireland's Harrington, a three-time major winner himself, said drove him on to excel when paired with the American golfing icon.

"I think it pushes you," Harrington added. "You have to go to a new level. I think it pushes you on and that's what I like.

"There's no point in being cautious or playing safe and I can get caught very much at times in the middle. You either go for it, you either play well or you don't is my attitude and Tiger brings that out."

Both men said playing together in the first round at Hazeltine National on Thursday was a very different experience to the one generated by them in the final round at Ohio's Firestone Country Club last Sunday.

"In fairness, last Sunday, both of us were heavily into our own games," Harrington said. "We were both focused and in the zone and all those sort of things. We were a lot more relaxed and we chatted away today about so many things, lots of different things. Sunday is a business day. Thursday is 'let's get into the tournament'."

Woods agreed, adding: "The situation is not the same. This is just the first round. You're trying to play yourself into that position where we were last Sunday.

"Last Sunday we didn't say much. I think he said 'I have a Titleist (ball)'. And I said 'I have a Nike, good luck today', and that's pretty much it. Today we talked a little bit more because obviously it's the first round and most of the guys usually talk the first two or three days. But you get a little more quiet on the weekend."