Die Berge » ls. "Im really happy with today.

AKRON, Ohio -- Sergio Garcia doesnt know anything about being in a zone. He had no trouble identifying the best round of his career. Garcia one-putted the final 11 holes and made birdies on his last seven holes Friday in the Bridgestone Invitational to tie the course record at Firestone with a 9-under 61 and take a three-shot lead into the weekend. He had a birdie putt on every hole on the back nine, missing only a 15-footer from the fringe at No. 11. Garcia shot 27 on the back nine, a course record. "Just one of those moments that you love and you enjoy, and you wish there were no end," he said. It matched the tournament record held by Tiger Woods, who shot 61 in 2000 and 2013, and Jose Maria Olazabal, who shot his 61 in 1990. Woods went on to win by 11 shots in 2000 and seven shots last year. Olazabal won by 12 in the World Series of Golf. Garcia still has work to do. He was at 11-under 129, three shots clear of Justin Rose, who had a 67. British Open champion Rory McIlroy birdied his last two holes for a 64 and joined Marc Leishman of Australia (67) four shots out of the lead. McIlroy played in the group behind Garcia, and could hear what was going on if he couldnt see it. "Every time I looked, he was putting a ball in the hole and the crowd was cheering," McIlroy said. "I knew that he was making a few birdies." Graham DeLaet (69) of Weyburn, Sask., is tied for ninth at 4-under par. Garcia was five shots out of the lead when he had to scramble to save pars on back-to-back holes to close out the front nine on what seemed to be an ordinary round. Two good swings on the 10th hole led to a 20-foot birdie putt. He hit 8-iron to 2 feet on No. 12 and 3 feet on No. 13 for the easiest birdies he had all day, and those turned out to be the start of his big run. The Spaniard finished in style, making birdie putts of 15, 25 and 20 feet on his last three holes. It reminded Garcia of the Travelers Championships earlier this summer, when Kevin Streelman closed with seven straight birdies to beat Garcia and K.J. Choi by one shot. "When I made the one on 17 I thought, This kind of looks familiar from what happened not too long ago," Garcia said. "Obviously, Sunday would be even nicer. But Ill take what I can get." His previous best score was a 62 on three other occasions -- as a 19-year-old at the Scottish Open and Byron Nelson Classic in 1999, and at Mount Juliet in 2002 at the American Express Championship. Woods also shot his 61s at Firestone in the second round. He could have used something remotely close to that to stay in range of Garcia. Instead, Woods hit only four fairways off the tee and couldnt seem to make anything on the green. It added to a 71, leaving him 10 shots behind. "I didnt hit the ball well. I didnt putt well. I didnt do anything well," Woods said. "The only thing I did well was I fought hard. Grinded hard. Unfortunately, it wasnt a very good day." Starting times for the third round were moved up to Saturday morning, with threesomes off both tees, because of a forecast for storms. That figures to only keep Firestone soft, allowing players to attack the pins provided theyre in the short grass. Rose missed only two greens in posting a 67 as his momentum builds toward the final major of the year next week at the PGA Championship. He wouldnt mind adding a WGC title this week. Either way, there is a long stretch of big tournaments, and Rose is headed in the right direction. He won back-to-back starts at Congressional and Royal Aberdeen before stalling slightly at the British Open. "Im feeling good about peaking at this time of the year," Rose said. "Every week is big. You could argue a major championship in the middle of it all is the one youd really love to peak for next week. But at the same time, theres not a bad golf tournament now for about two months. Looking forward to the whole stretch." He didnt realize when he finished that Rose would have three shots to make up on Garcia starting out the third round. It didnt come entirely out of the blue for Garcia. Just two weeks ago, he challenged McIlroy briefly at Royal Liverpool until tying for second in the British Open. But this was something special, and Garcia could sense it. "It feels great to be able to ... equal the course record on a course like this. Even playing soft, its not that easy a course," Garcia said. "You have to drive the ball very, very well. You have to put the ball on the greens on the right spots because you can get some really, really fast putts. "Being in a group with Tiger and Jose Maria, it feels really good." Kevin Shattenkirk Jersey . According to the Globe and Mail, a decision between the NHL and the Players Association should come within the six months. 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Ron Greschner Jersey .com) - Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending May 11.WINTERBERG, Germany -- Canadian Sarah Reid won a bronze medal Saturday at the Winterberg skeleton World Cup while Britains Lizzie Yarnold topped Noelle Pikus-Pace of the United States in the second run for the victory. Reid, from Calgary, was third with a two-run time of one minute 58.49 seconds. Yarnold took gold in 1:57.53 and Pikus-Pace won silver in 1:58.10. Reid, who won bronze earlier this season in Park City, Utah, now has seven career World Cup medals. "Im really happy with today. I had two good pushes and my runs were smooth," said Reid, who was recently named to the 2014 Canadian Olympic team. "Ive had some up-and-down results in Winterberg so to be back on the podium is important for me. "This is a bit of a lucky track because weather plays such a huge factor and the track always deteriorates." Yarnold had a 5.34-second start to begin her second run, 0.22 seconds faster than Pikus-Pace, and rode that momentum the rest of the way.dddddddddddd Mellisa Hollingsworth of Eckville, Alta. was tied in sixth place and Calgarys Robynne Thompson was 17th. Reid won five medals last season, including a third-place finish at the 2013 world championships. She is currently fourth in the overall standings. "It is a big deal for me to get back on the podium on a European track," she said. "The end goal is obviously to be on the podium in Sochi, but the leadup is very important for me. "Knowing Im having success along the way and that Im exactly where I want to be with my pushes and sliding is a confidence booster for me." Yarnold leads the standings with 1,085 points, 225 more than Pikus-Pace -- who lost exactly that many points when she was disqualified after finishing first in the season opener at Calgary. Britains Shelly Rudman is third overall. ' ' '