Watson, Goosen take lead at Quail Hollow

Bubba Watson overpowered Quail Hollow and wound up with a perfect day -- he tied a course record with a 30 on the front nine, shot seven-under-par 65 to share the lead, and doesn’t have to play with Tiger Woods.

Retief Goosen, a two-time U.S. Open champion who thrives on fast greens, had another 68 on Friday to join Watson atop the leaderboard at the Quail Hollow Championship with an eight-under 136.

Woods seized control with a 55-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole and had a two-shot lead for most of the back nine until a sloppy finish, making bogeys on two of the last three holes for a 72 that left him one shot behind.

Still, it was shaping up for an entertaining weekend packed with star power.

Ten players were separated by two shots going into the weekend on a course that proved it doesn’t need rough to be frightening, not with firm, slick greens that made it difficult to get close to the hole.

Former Masters champion Zach Johnson, one of eight players who had at least a share of the lead at one point, was the only player to reach 10 under until he bogeyed the last three holes for a 67 and joined the group at seven-under 137 that included Woods, Jim Furyk (66) and George McNeill (68).

Another shot back was Phil Mickelson, whose 71 was anything but routine. Mickelson was finding his groove until he four-putted from 40 feet for double bogey on the 17th hole. He also had a two-putt par that featured two clubs -- a 64-degree sand wedge on the fourth green to get over a steep slope and a putter for the remaining five feet.

Watson has never won a tournament and doesn’t get much attention except the freak show he puts on with his outrageous length, such as the 380-yard drive at No. 5 that left him a nine-iron to the green on the 569-yard hole.