ORLANDO, Fla. -- Spencer Levin glanced up at a leaderboard halfway through the second round and noticed he had a six-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. By the end of his round, he was happy to have the lead.
Levin leaned on his belly putter Friday at Bay Hill to turn an ordinary day of hitting the ball into a solid round of 2-under 70 that gave him a two-shot lead over Steve Marino and Charles Howell III among those who played early.
Tiger Woods, a six-time winner at Bay Hill, stayed in the game with birdie on his last hole for a 68 that left him five shots behind.
The conditions were far better than the gusts that roared through Bay Hill in the opening round, and the course was playing about two shots easier. For Levin, it was a struggle ? except on the greens.
"I scored a lot better than I played today," Levin said.
He finally made his first bogey of the tournament after 31 holes when he three-putted the 14th, and he failed to save par from a bunker on the par-3 17th. But he had enough go right to stay atop the leaderboard.
Levin made four birdies, all of them 15 feet or longer. And coming off that bogey at the 17th, he holed a 20-foot birdie putt from behind the hole at No. 18 to reach 8-under 136.
Marino played with Levin and was far more crisp, especially a series of iron shots around the turn that left him easy birdie putts. Marino had a 67, giving him yet another chance of that first PGA Tour victory. Already this year he had a chance in the Sony Open and the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
"Every time I put myself in a position like that, it gives me more confidence," Marino said. "If I have the game to do what it takes to get to that point, it's just a matter of time for me until I just keep doing the same things and finish one off."
Howell had a tournament-best 65, a round that started by holing a tough bunker shot on his second hole of the day at No. 11, and highlighted by a 50-foot eagle putt across the green on the 16th.
For Woods, being five shots out of the lead amounts to progress.
He also was five shots back in his season debut at Torrey Pines, only to fall apart on the weekend. This round was relatively clean, with his only bogey coming on the third hole when good contact out of the rough turned too much, bounced twice off the rocks framing the green and stayed in the hazard.
He got what he deserved, for while he missed a few putts inside 12 feet, he holed a 55-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the 18th with a putt that looked as though it would go some 5 feet by if the cup didn't get in the way.
That was a rarity. So many other times, his putt was on line and came up short.
"I had a hard time getting the ball to the hole today," Woods said. "That was probably the main thing. I left five putts that were dead center short, and this could have been a pretty special round if I had hit it a little harder."
Even so, he was still in the picture. That wasn't the case at Doral or the Match Play Championship, where he was beaten in the first round. Bay Hill takes on more significance because it's his last tournament before the Masters.
"We're trying to build toward the first major, and that's kind of how my game is," he said. "It's building and it's coming."
Sergio Garcia also showed progress. The 31-year-old Spaniard made his PGA Tour debut last week at Innisbrook and was one shot out of the lead going into the weekend until he faded. He had a 68 and joined the group at 3-under 141 that included Woods and David Toms.
Another shot back was Ian Poulter and Erik Compton, who has had two heart transplants and is at Bay Hill on a sponsor's exemption. Dickie Pride, also here by invitation, was putting together an exceptional round at 8 under through 13 holes until he sputtered at the end for a 66 that put him at the group at 1-under 143.
In ideal conditions, it looked as though Levin might run away from the field. He thought his approach to the opening hole was headed for the sand until it hopped over the bunker and onto the green, and he made a 30-foot birdie putt. He made a 15-foot birdie on the third, and a birdie from about 18 feet below the hole on the par-5 sixth.
"I saw the six-shot lead, and that was a little interesting," Levin said. "I tried not to think about it, because I know that the afternoon had not even started, it's a nice day and there's still two rounds. I try not to get too far ahead of myself. I didn't play well today. I got a couple of good breaks, made some nice putts, made a long one for par. It was a good score for how I played."
Marino wasn't just along for the ride ? he played even better. Still, it was hard not to notice a guy making just about everything.
"Very, very impressive," Marino said. "I've never really seen anyone putt like that for two days."
Amanda Righetti Xenia Seeberg Leeann Tweeden Jamie Chung Mischa Barton
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