PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. Oakland Athletics Shirts . -- Golf is starting to feel easy again for Rory McIlroy, who bounced back from a sloppy start Friday in the Honda Classic for a 4-under 66 that gave him his first 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour in 18 months. Tiger Woods is making it look hard. McIlroy recovered from two early bogeys by running off six birdies in a 10-hole stretch. He looked solid from tee-to-green, hit putts with growing confidence and wound up with a one-shot lead over Brendon de Jonge. "I knew that with the way Im playing and the confidence in my ability, I would be able to get those shots back," McIlroy said. "I didnt panic. I didnt try to do anything different. Just tried to keep playing the way I was." He was at 11-under 129. Woods felt fortunate to still be playing. He was over the cut line after scrambling for a bogey on the 11th hole and wound up with a 69 to make the cut on the number. Woods hit only two greens over his last nine holes. His lone birdie on the back nine was a chip-in on the 13th after he missed the green with a wedge. "It was a grind, theres no doubt about it," Woods said. "I didnt hit it very good. Just one of those days where I fought out a number, which was good." Because 79 players made the cut, there will be another cut to top 70 and ties on Saturday. Woods missed the 54-hole cut the last time he played on the PGA Tour at Torrey Pines. David Hearn (70) of Brantford, Ont., is tied for 23rd at 3 under. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., did not make the cut after shooting a 72 and a 70. Calgarys Stephen Ames was also out after a 73 and a 75. And at least hes still playing the weekend. That wasnt the case for Phil Mickelson. Playing the Honda Classic for the first time in 12 years, he had a 71 to miss the cut. So did Henrik Stenson, the No. 3 player in the world, with rounds of 73-76. McIlroy knew the feeling a year ago, when he took a steep fall from No. 1 in the world while changing equipment and trying to live up to high expectations, leading to his snap decision to walk off the course after 26 holes last year at the Honda Classic. A growing gallery in warm sunshine at PGA National saw a familiar game -- the McIlroy who won the Honda Classic two years ago. Swinging freely and putting beautifully, McIlroy hit his stride on his back nine with four birdies in five holes, including the par-5 third when he smashed a drive some 35 yards past Adam Scott and had only a 6-iron into the green on the 539-yard hole. De Jonge, who has never won on the PGA Tour, played early in the afternoon when the wind picked up and put eight birdies on his card in a 64. He was tied for the lead when he missed the green with a wedge on No. 9 and made bogey. Even so, hell be in the last group Saturday with McIlroy. "I think I might have got a little bit of switch in the wind," de Jonge said. Russell Henley had a 68 and was three shots behind. Russell Knox of Scotland had the low round Friday at 63 and was four shots back along with Lee Westwood (65). But the focus is clearly on McIlroy, who each week looks to be getting better. "This year is obviously a lot different," McIlroy said. "Got off to a good start. Im confident. Im playing well. This is the second straight tournament Ive opened with a 63, so if I can keep building on these good starts, then hopefully I can start converting." After a 63 in Dubai, he said he was pressing too much in the final round and wound up in a tie for ninth. Friday was another step in the right direction, despite two errant tee shots on the 11th and 12th holes that led to bogeys. His round changed with a tee shot into 6 feet on the 16th hole for a birdie, and then a 12-foot birdie on the 18th to wrap up his front nine and earn back the two shots he had dropped. After a 45-foot birdie attempt on the second hole rimmed all the way around and out of the cup, Boy Wonder took off. He two-putted the par-5 third. He hit a wedge into 4 feet on the next hole. He rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt down the hill at the par-5 fifth. Then, after a tough par save on the sixth, he sank another 30-foot birdie putt that McIlroy made look routine. The gallery is kept 100 yards from the green, so the only applause came from a few marshals. It sounded like a tap-in for par. McIlroy reacted that way, too. "Watching Rory play is amazing when hes swinging like this," Scott said after his own great recovery. The Masters champ put shots in the water on the 16th and 17th holes, both times making double bogey, and it looked as though his return to golf after a six-week break would be a short one. But the Australian ran off four birdies on the front nine for a 70. It will take a lot more to catch McIlroy, who has taken only 49 putts through two rounds. "Thats probably the lowest putting total after 36 Ive probably had, maybe in my career," he said. "So its obviously going in the right direction." Chris Bassitt Athletics Jersey . The Argentine midfielder made the announcement himself on Twitter on Tuesday and posted a picture of his swollen left foot. His message said he would be out "at least three weeks. Cheap Athletics Jerseys . The team let Keaton Ellerby, James Wright and Matt Halischuk become unrestricted free agents after declining to make them qualifying offers. Ellerby, 25, appeared in 51 games for the Jets last season and had two goals and four assists. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/ . The 42-ranked Czech saved seven break points while converting his one chance, and defeated the No. 3 seed in 1 hour 46 minutes. Rosol, who lost in the final in Stuttgart against Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday, awaits the winner between Philipp Kohlschreiber or 2011 champion Gilles Simon.As the Toronto Maple Leafs return from their Olympic break, Jonathan Bernier appears firmly entrenched as their starter while James Reimer is filling the back-up role. Reimer told TSNs Mark Masters on Tuesday that he doesnt know if he will be moved leading up to the March 5 trade deadline but added he wasnt interested in discussing it. "Who knows whats going to happen on the horizon here and right now I dont know if I want to talk about it too much." Reimer said he is at a juxtaposition, between being happy in Toronto yet yearning to start games. "I love playing here and obviously I want to be a starter, so its been an interesting year." The 25-year-old added that would be hard on him to leave the Maple Leafs organization. "This is the team I was drafted by and this is definitely a place I dreamed of playing my whole career." Reimer has played in 24 of the Leafs 60 games this season and started 33 of 48 games in the Leafs lockout-shortened 2013 campaign. He also started all seeven 2013 playoff games. Fake Athletics Jerseys. Reimer admitted that seeing a large reduction in playing time has not been easy on him. "Anytime you go from playing a lot of games to not its a hard pill to swallow. You want to play, you want to be the guy & you want to give your team the best chance to win. Theres no feeling like that other then when youre in there," Reimer told Masters. When he asked if he has proven himself as a starter in the NHL, Reimer said he didnt believe there was any question. "As far as Im concerned, I dont think its up for debate. I feel like Ive had a couple of solid years where Ive played really well. And obviously, last year went to the playoffs and led a team to the playoffs when probably a lot of people didnt expect us to go. Yeah, I feel like Ive played well and I dont think theres much debate for it. Maybe other people think so. I dont know." Reimer has a 10-6-1 record with 3.25 goals against average and a .911 save percentage with the Leafs this season. ' ' '