AKRON, Ohio -- Tiger Woods had a shot at making history with a magical 59. Goran Dragic Jersey . He swore he wasnt disappointed to come up short. "Disappointed? Absolutely not," he said. Then he cracked, "A 61s pretty good. Im not bummed." Like a pitcher having to settle for a shutout instead of a perfect game, Woods could console himself by tying his career best and building a seven-shot lead Friday through 36 holes at the Bridgestone Invitational. Pursuing his eighth victory at Firestone Country Club, Woods opened birdie-eagle -- stuffing an approach to 3 feet at the first hole and holing a 20-footer for 3 at the par-5 second. He had two more birdies on the front nine, and had four in a row to start the back nine in a light rain. Needing to go only 2 under over his last five holes, he missed birdie putts inside 10 feet at 15 and 17. He saved par on the last with a 25-footer after an errant drive and a shot that hit into the trees and ended up in a bare spot short and right of the green. "How about just pleased?" he said, when asked to rate the round. "Im very happy I was able to post that. I just kept thinking, whatever lead I had, Lets just keep increasing it. Its at seven now, I believe. So thats not too bad after two days." The 61 -- matching his career best at the 1999 Byron Nelson, 2005 Buick Open and on the same Firestone course back in 2000 -- left him at 13-under 127. Defending champion Keegan Bradley and Chris Wood, playing the tournament for the first time, were tied for second. They each shot 68. Bradley finished well before Woods, but was asked if it was disheartening to take the lead and then have Woods retake it after the opening two holes. "Tiger, those first couple holes out there are definitely birdie holes, so Id expect him to do that," Bradley said. "You know, I hope he doesnt go too low." Sorry, Keegan. Woods, a four-time winner this year, needed only 22 putts, eight fewer than he had Thursday in an opening 66. He hit 10 of 14 fairways and was on in regulation on 16 of 18 greens. The next best score on a threatening day with a slate-grey sky and precipitation was a 66. It seemed every fan on the course took notice as Woods started stacking up birdies. The magic number 59 -- shot five times on the PGA Tour -- dominated conversations. "Oh, they were excited," Woods said. "You could hear it more than feel it. You definitely could hear it. They were into it." Asked if that kind of electricity helps out a player, he joked, "Its nice to be playing in front of people who are excited like that, especially people who arent yelling just because your ball gets in the air. You know, we are pros." How good were things going for him? He yanked a drive into the trees at 13, but it ricocheted into the middle of the fairway. From there he hit an iron to 15 feet and drilled the putt. At the 14th, Woods hit his drive on the other side of the cart path beneath a canopy of huge trees to the right. He was forced to hit a low, hard, slicing shot to the green that ran to the back fringe. From there, he chipped 10 feet past but rolled in the par putt. The gallery seemed to swell with each hole, the crowds growing in hopes of seeing history. He stepped off his shot into the 216-yard, par-3 15th because he was bothered by a bug, then hit an iron 10 feet short of the pin. After playing partner Hideki Matsuyama of Japan putted out, Woods missed his birdie putt on the right side. The 667-yard 16th, dubbed "The Monster" by Arnold Palmer, resulted in another par. Woods hit a long drive that dribbled into the first cut of rough on the left side of the fairway, then laid up to about 100 yards. His wedge carried too far, however, spinning back to 30 feet. With a light sprinkle turning into a steady drizzle, he two-putted, leaving the birdie attempt short and right of the hole by 2 feet. A huge throng, several deep around the lengthy hole, responded with polite applause as he tapped in. He still had a chance for a 59. He hit a long drive along the left side at 17, but misread a 7-footer for birdie that missed on the low side of the break. "I had opportunities to make putts there at 15 and 17," he said. With the rain now falling hard, and Woods needing to hole his second shot on the par-4 18th for a 59, he drove far to the right on the slight dogleg to the left. He muscled a shot out of a difficult lie to a bare spot near a huge scoreboard right and short of the green. From there, he chipped to the back fringe -- and made the 25-footer coming back for par. He pumped his fist as the crowd roared. Matsuyama, a 21-year-old who was sixth at the British Open, got a close-up view. "It was great looking at great play at the top of the world," he said. The last player to shoot 59 in a PGA Tour event was Stuart Appleby in the final round of the Greenbrier Classic in 2010. Al Geiberger was the first in 1977, and Chip Beck, David Duval and Paul Goydos also accomplished the feat. Bill Haas shot a 68 and was tied for fourth at 5 under with Henrik Stenson, who had a 70. Jim Furyk, Luke Donald, Jason Duffner and Bubba Watson were 4 under. There have been 27 rounds of 60 in tour events, including Phil Mickelson this year in the Phoenix Open. In a remarkable career spent in the spotlight, a 59 would have been just another check mark on Woods to-do list. Instead, he didnt think it was even anything special. "(One of my) top 10 rounds?" he said, repeating the question. "I dont know about that." Daequan Cook Jersey . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. Caron Butler Jersey . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. https://www.cheapheatonline.com/557h-vos...ersey-heat.html . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. ST. ANDREWS -- Wearing a black rain suit and a soft smile, Inbee Park looked calm as ever standing before the imposing Royal & Ancient clubhouse just moments before she teed off Thursday in the Womens British Open. Only after her unsteady round of 3-under 69 did Park reveal perhaps the biggest surprise at St. Andrews. She was nervous. "But then once the round started, and especially playing so good in the first few holes, that really gave me a lot of confidence," Park said. "I didnt feel much pressure when I was playing during the round. Im just glad that its already started and I got the first round under my belt." Park wound up three shots behind Morgan Pressel and Camilla Lennarth of Sweden, a solid start to what should be a fascinating week at the home of golf. Her pursuit of history looked more like a high-speed chase when the 25-year-old South Korean made six birdies in 10 holes. Three poor tee shots, two three-putt bogeys and one double bogey from a pot bunker on the back nine made her realize theres a reason no golfer has ever won four majors in a single year. "Felt like a roller coaster today," Park said. She was only too happy it finally stopped with a 6-foot birdie on the 18th hole, ending a slide during which she dropped four shots in a five-hole span. Pressel, one spot out of making the Solheim Cup team this week, caught a break when the rain and wind never materialized in the afternoon. She made seven birdies in a round of 66 that gave her a share of the lead with Lennarth, who birdied the 18th. Stacy Lewis, the former No. 1 player in womens golf, shot 31 on the tougher back nine for a 67 to be part of a large group that included former U.S. Womens Open champion Na Yeon Choi and Nicole Castrale. Another shot behind were Paula Creamer, Catriona Matthew and Lizette Salas. Those who played early had reason to worry. Lewis was on the 10th tee when she looked over at Park knocking in an 18-foot birdie putt, her fifth of the round. Castrale had not yet teed off when her husband saw a leaderboard with Parks name in a familiar position. "Its amazing, the fact we all possibly can play with history," Castrale said. "Its amazing what shes done to this point, the composure she has. I dont know what she shot today, but Im going to guess shell be in the mix come Sunday." If there were nerves on the first tee for Park, she didnt show it. She opened with a wedge into about 7 feet for birdie, and then she really poured it on with an astounding display of her putting stroke. She rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 3 with perfect pace. She made an 18-foot birdie on No. 4 and a 35-footer on No. 6. It didnt look as if she would ever miss. Her sixth birdie came at the 10th, when her sand wedge checked up to 5 feet right of the hole. Another birdie. Just like that, there was a feeling of inevitability aabout this Womens British Open, much as there was for Tiger Woods when he won the British Open for the first time at St. Jamal Mashburn Jersey. Andrews by eight shots to complete the career Grand Slam in 2000. But not for long. It started with a tee shot into thick grass to the right of the 12th fairway. She saved par with another great putt, this one from 15 feet, but she couldnt save herself much longer. After another poor tee shot on the 13th, she came dangerously close to a large gorse bush. She chipped to 15 feet and made bogey, her first of the day. A delicate pitch-and-run helped her avoid another bogey on the 15th after a third tee shot to the right. Park appeared to be in big trouble when her approach rolled toward the high face of the vetted wall in a pot bunker short of the 16th hole. She considered a shot over the wall toward the flag, but then wisely turned sideways and blasted out to some 90 feet away, her ball about halfway between the flags of No. 2 and No. 16 on the double green. Her first putt wasnt hit nearly hard enough, and her par putt from 15 feet caught the lip. "A little disappointing, but Im glad that Ive done that in the first round instead of the final round," she said. It was only her second double bogey in a major this year. She also three-putted the 17th from 40 feet when her first attempt came up 10 feet short, leading to another three-putt bogey. "I thought that I fixed my problems coming into this week. I was hitting it so good on the practice round and I didnt really miss any balls," Park said. "I thought I was really prepared, but those couple of bad shots really shocked me. I couldnt really concentrate on the greens when I hit those shots. Ive learned my lesson. Good thing Ive got my time to fix that today and tomorrow." Only four months ago, Park and Lewis were battling for No. 1 in the world until the South Korean left everyone in her wake by adding to her collection of majors. The Kraft Nabisco Championship put her in position to take No. 1 away from Lewis, and the playoff win at the LPGA Championship and four-shot win at the U.S. Womens Open brought her to the brink of something grand. Lewis and Karrie Webb were on the 11th tee when they saw Park make another birdie. "We both looked at each other and shook our heads," Lewis said. "We knew she was going to be there, but its like she keeps doing it over and over and over again." Lewis made up ground on the back nine. And when rough weather didnt arrive, plenty of others took aim on the Old Course. Park was tied for 18th on a day in which 73 players broke par. Her biggest test might come if the strong wind arrives before Sunday. Shes not ready to think that far ahead. "If I could walk out of this tournament with no regrets, thats what Im looking to do," she said. "Thats all I could ask for." ' ' '