PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. Pablo Sandoval Giants Jersey . -- Golf is starting to feel easy again for Rory McIlroy, who bounced back from a sloppy start Friday in the Honda Classic for a 4-under 66 that gave him his first 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour in 18 months. Tiger Woods is making it look hard. McIlroy recovered from two early bogeys by running off six birdies in a 10-hole stretch. He looked solid from tee-to-green, hit putts with growing confidence and wound up with a one-shot lead over Brendon de Jonge. "I knew that with the way Im playing and the confidence in my ability, I would be able to get those shots back," McIlroy said. "I didnt panic. I didnt try to do anything different. Just tried to keep playing the way I was." He was at 11-under 129. Woods felt fortunate to still be playing. He was over the cut line after scrambling for a bogey on the 11th hole and wound up with a 69 to make the cut on the number. Woods hit only two greens over his last nine holes. His lone birdie on the back nine was a chip-in on the 13th after he missed the green with a wedge. "It was a grind, theres no doubt about it," Woods said. "I didnt hit it very good. Just one of those days where I fought out a number, which was good." Because 79 players made the cut, there will be another cut to top 70 and ties on Saturday. Woods missed the 54-hole cut the last time he played on the PGA Tour at Torrey Pines. David Hearn (70) of Brantford, Ont., is tied for 23rd at 3 under. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., did not make the cut after shooting a 72 and a 70. Calgarys Stephen Ames was also out after a 73 and a 75. And at least hes still playing the weekend. That wasnt the case for Phil Mickelson. Playing the Honda Classic for the first time in 12 years, he had a 71 to miss the cut. So did Henrik Stenson, the No. 3 player in the world, with rounds of 73-76. McIlroy knew the feeling a year ago, when he took a steep fall from No. 1 in the world while changing equipment and trying to live up to high expectations, leading to his snap decision to walk off the course after 26 holes last year at the Honda Classic. A growing gallery in warm sunshine at PGA National saw a familiar game -- the McIlroy who won the Honda Classic two years ago. Swinging freely and putting beautifully, McIlroy hit his stride on his back nine with four birdies in five holes, including the par-5 third when he smashed a drive some 35 yards past Adam Scott and had only a 6-iron into the green on the 539-yard hole. De Jonge, who has never won on the PGA Tour, played early in the afternoon when the wind picked up and put eight birdies on his card in a 64. He was tied for the lead when he missed the green with a wedge on No. 9 and made bogey. Even so, hell be in the last group Saturday with McIlroy. "I think I might have got a little bit of switch in the wind," de Jonge said. Russell Henley had a 68 and was three shots behind. Russell Knox of Scotland had the low round Friday at 63 and was four shots back along with Lee Westwood (65). But the focus is clearly on McIlroy, who each week looks to be getting better. "This year is obviously a lot different," McIlroy said. "Got off to a good start. Im confident. Im playing well. This is the second straight tournament Ive opened with a 63, so if I can keep building on these good starts, then hopefully I can start converting." After a 63 in Dubai, he said he was pressing too much in the final round and wound up in a tie for ninth. Friday was another step in the right direction, despite two errant tee shots on the 11th and 12th holes that led to bogeys. His round changed with a tee shot into 6 feet on the 16th hole for a birdie, and then a 12-foot birdie on the 18th to wrap up his front nine and earn back the two shots he had dropped. After a 45-foot birdie attempt on the second hole rimmed all the way around and out of the cup, Boy Wonder took off. He two-putted the par-5 third. He hit a wedge into 4 feet on the next hole. He rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt down the hill at the par-5 fifth. Then, after a tough par save on the sixth, he sank another 30-foot birdie putt that McIlroy made look routine. The gallery is kept 100 yards from the green, so the only applause came from a few marshals. It sounded like a tap-in for par. McIlroy reacted that way, too. "Watching Rory play is amazing when hes swinging like this," Scott said after his own great recovery. The Masters champ put shots in the water on the 16th and 17th holes, both times making double bogey, and it looked as though his return to golf after a six-week break would be a short one. But the Australian ran off four birdies on the front nine for a 70. It will take a lot more to catch McIlroy, who has taken only 49 putts through two rounds. "Thats probably the lowest putting total after 36 Ive probably had, maybe in my career," he said. "So its obviously going in the right direction." Mel Ott . Hudson pitched into the eighth inning after having eight days between starts, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Miami Marlins 5-3 on Saturday night. Gaylord Perry . They just probably couldnt have imagined how much. Blake Griffin had 26 points, 11 rebounds and six assists Sunday night as Los Angeles stormed out to a 31-point lead in the first quarter with its All-Star point guard back on the court and pummeled the Philadelphia 76ers 123-78.COPENHAGEN - It may very well be the most important position on the ice, but it is the one position where there is no competition to make the Canadian world junior team. Only two goalies were invited to the countrys selection camp, meaning Saginaws Jake Paterson and Halifaxs Zach Fucale are guaranteed spots on the final 22-man roster. "In previous years they would be competing and right now wed have two other goalies and it would make their job a lot harder," explained Hockey Canadas goalie consultant Fred Brathwaite. "Now, theyre coming in here and were trying to make their game better day in, day out and get them ready for the tournament." The decision to take some of the pressure off of the netminders took Paterson by surprise. "I had no idea that it was just going to be the two goalies at camp," the Detroit Red Wings prospect admitted. "I thought it would be the usual four. Obviously, to get that news was a relief." Paterson took full advantage of the goalie competition at the 2012 selection camp. He entered the event as an under-dog to crack the roster, but stopped all 33 shots faced over three games to steal a job from Laurent Brossoit. Patersons edge in the competition to be starter this time around is his age and experience as Canadas third goalie at last years competition in Ufa, Russia, where Malcolm Subban started all but one game with Jordan Binnington getting the call for the bronze-medal game. The 19-year-old Paterson, a year older than Fucale, learned a lot despite not seeing a second of action. "Probably the biggest thing was how hard the tournament is to win with the one-game elimination in the medal round and, as well, how important it is to come together as a team. That stood out as well," he said. And while Hockey Canada has often times leaned toward older players when it comes to doling out responsibility at this event (Sutter, for example, went with two 19-year-olds in goal at the 2006 tournament cutting 18-year-old Carey Price at the selection camp), it is actually Fucale who owns the better big-game track record, including a gold medal at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and a Memorial Cup title last May. WATCH: Jamie McLennan breaks down Fucales game and explain why he should be Canadas starter "I think the Memorial Cup is very similar [to the world junior championship] with just five or six games so its very similar: you got to be at your best every night and theres no second chances, no turning back, you got to make sure youre well prepared and ready to play," said Fucale, who was the top goalie selected in Junes NHL draft getting scooped up by the Montreal Canadiens early in the second round. "You just want to be as prepared as you can come into the games. I think thats key. When ttheres a pressure situation, a lot at stake, you have to be well-prepared and whenever you are well-prepared you cant be scared of anything, because you did everything to be ready for that game. Willie McCovey Giants Jersey. " Fucale has an edge in the early-season numbers this season. Paterson has posted a 3.64 GAA and .900 save-percentage in 22 games in the OHL, while Fucale has a 2.51 GAA and .902 save-percentage in 28 games in the QMJHL. Paterson and Fucale are expected to split the starts in the first two pre-tournament games, on Friday against the Finns and Sunday against the Swedes. Who starts the final tune-up on Monday against the Swiss may provide a good indication of who will also get the honour of starting on Boxing Day when Canada opens the tournament against Germany. Sutter has made it clear he wants the battle to be the No. 1 goalie to wrap-up sooner rather than later. "I think you got to have somewhat of a clear mind about who your guy is going to be and start with it that way and if you have to change you can always change," said Sutter. "I dont think you can rotate in the tournament. I think you got to get someone really solid and hot going into it and thats our goal. But, at the same time, you got four round-robin games and the other guy has to play in at least one of them." Sutter leaned heavily on his starter in his two previous tenures behind Canadas world junior bench. In 2006, Justin Pogge started all six games en route to being named tournament MVP. Devan Dubnyk was the backup. In 2005, Jeff Glass got five starts, while Rejean Beauchemin got one. Sutter hinted that this time around the backup will probably get at least one game. Whoever plays will be facing sky-high pressure. When the world juniors are held overseas, Canada has never won gold without having the tournaments best goalie. Steve Mason was the last to do it backstopping Canada to gold in 2008 in the Czech Republic. Paterson and Fucale are well aware of all the hand-wringing about Canadas so-called crisis in the crease and have tuned it out. "Obviously, Ive heard a lot about that the last couple of years, but I think its out of our control," Paterson said. "Obviously, the results havent been there the last couple of years, but as far as me and Zachs concerned were just looking to have a good couple of practices here." "We heard a little bit of talk about it," said Fucale, "but, you know, the last four, five years, Im pretty sure theyve been doing their best to give the team a chance to win and all I want to do, me and Jake, we want to be prepared and coming into the first game want to be in top shape. "You got to make sure everyones ready to play. Me, the goalie, you have to make a difference. Im just looking forward to that first game." ' ' '
