Tiger well clear after blistering 61
McIlroy decamped straight to the practice range after another errant driving display on day two in Akron.
McIlroy managed to hit just five of 14 Firestone Country Club fairways in a round of 71 for a clubhouse share of 25th place with fellow US Open champion Justin Rose (72).
It left the current world No 3-ranking McIlroy trailing 14 shots behind tearaway former seven-time Bridgestone champion Woods who sprinted to a seven shot lead with a blistering nine under par 61 for a 13-under par total in the $8.75m ‘no cut’ and elite 73-player only event.
However Woods, who got off to a sensational start burning plenty of Bridgestone rubber in starting birdie, eagle and birdie, was left ruing a first-ever career 59 when he moved to nine under par through 13 holes but then played the last five in level par including holing a 22 feet par putt at the last to equal the 61 he posted on route to victory in the 2000 Akron event.
It is the fourth time in Woods' career he has shot 61.
Defending Bridgestone champion, Keegan Bradley (68) and England's Chris Wood (68) are next best at six under par.
McIlroy heads to Oak Hill in upstate New York tomorrow night for the defence of his PGA Championship title but still desperately seeking to find light at the end of a ever lengthening darkertunnel.
He managed to hit eight of 14 fairways on day one but could find just five on day two while then managing to find just 17 of the 36 greens in regulation.
However it’s been on the greens where McIlroy has played well managing 28 putts on Thursday and only 24 on day two.
“I need to work on the range this afternoon to get my game straightened out a little bit,” he said.
“I’m getting a really good strike on my ball and hitting it long but a few drivers are still leaking left, so apart from that everything else is pretty good.”
Sitting out like a dog’s hind leg on his scorecard on each of the two days is a pair of double bogeys.
The first on Thursday at his 10th hole and the second at the fifth hole of his day yesterday where he played a wild drive well right of the hole and he then needed a further three shots from just 150-yards out to find the front edge of the green from where he took a further two shots to get down.
“If you take those two double bogeys off my card I am right up there but it’s those sort of shots that are really costing me at themoment,” he said. “As I said, I didn’t hit the ball as well today as I did on Thursday but I scrambled really well today and got it up-and-down where I needed to to save par with some good putts.
“That’s the positive aspect of my game and to be able to birdie 16 and 17 was nice to do and just disappointing to again bogey the last today.
“But I know that if I can get on a run by hitting more fairways then I can pick up a few birdies as the greens are so pure.
“It’s great that I have two more rounds as it’s really one of my favourite weeks of the year as you get four competitive rounds and where you can really work on your game in a week before a Major.”
And with now less than a week to his defence of the PGA Championship, and‘Glory’s Last Shot’ as the PGA of America promotes the Major, McIlroy said that despite exploring new parts of the Firestone course he’s ready to tackle Oak Hill.
“I do feel I am ready for the defence of the PGA and it’s going to be nice going back to defend a Major Championship,” he said.
“It will be the second occasion in my career I can say that so very much looking forward to it.”
Both Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry slipped down the board with McDowell carding a 71 for a two over par tally and Lowry playing his last 10 holes in five over par for a round of 75 for a seven over par total.
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