Woods (61) Is at His Best

Tiger Woods shot an 11-under-par 61 Friday in the second round of the Buick Open, matching the best score of his career and the tournament record.

Woods also had consecutive eagles for the first time in a PGA Tour event in an eagle-eagle-birdie-birdie stretch.

Woods went into the weekend at 12-under 132, one shot behind defending champion Vijay Singh (66). The top two players in the world rankings will be paired in the final group today.

“It’s going to be fun, but there are two rounds to go,” Woods said. “We can’t just sit still with a bunch of pars. We have to keep making birdies.”

Last year, Singh needed to reach 23 under to beat John Daly by a stroke and Woods by two.

Craig Barlow (67) was alone in third, two shots behind Singh. Fred Funk (66) was in a group of six at 134.

Woods’ previous 61s came at the 2000 NEC Invitational and the 1999 Byron Nelson Classic. In shooting 11 under for the first time, he tied the Buick Open record Billy Mayfair set in 2001.

If Woods had birdied his final two holes, he would have finished with a 59, tying the PGA Tour record shared by three players. David Duval was the last to reach golf’s magic number, in the final round of the 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

“Yeah, it crosses your mind,” Woods said.

He is the third PGA Tour player to make consecutive eagles this year. Lee Janzen and Tag Ridings did it at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.