PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- Robert Garrigus cant recall a better performance going into the weekend. And his golf has been pretty good, too. Garrigus spent most of the practice days fishing in the lakes of Innisbrook, catching nearly three dozen bass. As for his day job, he bagged 10 birdies over two days and delivered the best score of the tournament, a 5-under 66 on Friday, to build a three-shot lead in the Valspar Championship. His only other PGA Tour victory was a little more than an hour away at Disney, and Garrigus offered a simple explanation. "Its the fishing," he said. Garrigus didnt play a single practice round the year he won Disney. He arrived at Innisbrook on Monday and fished that evening, most of Tuesday and then for about five hours Wednesday without ever looking at the Copperhead course. "I think that puts me in a good frame of mind because Im clear and not thinking about anything, just going out and having some fun," he said. His golf has been plenty fun. Garrigus, one of the longest hitters in golf, has made birdie on all of the par 5s both rounds. That has contributed mightily to being at 7-under 135, three shots clear of Kevin Na going into a weekend with a Masters spot potentially up for grabs. Only five of the top 22 on the leaderboard already are eligible for the Masters. Na had a 68, while the group four shots behind included Pat Perez (71), Matteo Manassero (70) and Justin Rose (68), who is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 7. Matt Every shot a 71 in the afternoon and joined them at 3-under 139. The three-shot lead is the largest through 36 holes in the 14-year history of this tournament. Garrigus is about the only player who has made it look easy, even though he felt as stressed as anyone on the Copperhead course, regarded by many as perhaps the best tournament course in Florida. Even though the weather was close to perfect -- only a breeze in warm sunshine -- only 17 players broke 70. John Daly was not among them. He was struggling with what he called the yips with his putter when he got to the 16th hole. Daly put three shots in the water, shanked a 7-iron, duffed a chip into the bunker and made a 12. With a double bogey on the last hole, he shot a 90, the highest score of his PGA Tour career. David Hearn (70) of Brantford, Ont., sat in a tie for 12th at 1-under par, while Calgarys Stephen Ames (70) was in a group at 22nd at even par. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., shot a 68 to improve on his first-round score of 75 to jump into a tie for 35th at 1 over. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., did not make the cut. For all his birdies, Garrigus was especially satisfied with one par. He pulled his tee shot well left on the 16th hole, the most dangerous tee shot at Innisbrook. The ball went deep into the pines, and Garrigus decided to take on a tiny gap in the trees with a 5-iron. "I probably hit one of the top-five shots of my life there on 16 out of the trees," he said. "Hit a low, cut 5-iron, then rose it up over the pine tree and cut it 40 yards and hit to 10 feet. Thats just one of those shots that when youre playing good and everything is rolling, you kind of expect it. It was a lot of fun to try it, and to pull it off was even better. Ive spent half my life in the trees. Ive had a lot of practice." He missed the putt, but was more than happy with par. As for the rest of the golf course, he picked up another birdie on the par-3 15th with a long putt, and one on the par-4 ninth with a 20-foot birdie down the hill. Rose feels as if his shoulder injury is in the past, except for answering questions about it. He loves the Florida swing because the courses demand so many different shots, and Innisbrook might require the most. The U.S. Open champion was struggling in the first round until he finished birdie-birdie to salvage a 71. He carried that momentum into the second round, and despite a bogey on No. 6 from being out of position off the tee, and a soft bogey on the par-3 eighth, he felt much better ending with a birdie. "I got some momentum going today," Rose said. "I worked my way into the tournament early. To finish strong with my round yesterday I think helped give me some momentum into day. ... Its exactly how I needed to flow into the tournament." Perez was the first player to reach 5 under for the tournament until he missed two drives well to the left. One was in the trees at No. 6, the other went out of bounds on No. 7. Both led to double bogeys, though Perez didnt get down on himself. "Just move on and keep going," he said. DIVOTS: The cut was at 3-over 145 and because 84 players advanced to Saturday, there will be a 54-hole cut to top 70 and ties on Saturday. ... Danny Lee went from first to worst. He was tied for the lead Thursday, and then shot 79 to miss the cut. ... Darren Clarke made his first cut of 2014 on the PGA Tour. He withdrew after one round at Riviera and missed the cut at the Honda Classic. Rays Jerseys China . Toronto has lost six of its last eight games but is coming off Thursdays 7-3 victory at Kansas City. Juan Francisco and Colby Rasmus both went deep for the Blue Jays, who are second in the American League with 34 home runs on the season. Avisail Garcia Jersey . -- D.A. Points was disqualified Friday from the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for using a training device while waiting to play the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/. And follow TSN.ca right through Wednesdays 3pm et trade deadline for all the updates. Blue line help for Red Wings? In addition to what he reported in Insider Trading, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun wrote on ESPN. Mike Brosseau Jersey . -- Josh MacDonalds second goal of the game kept his team alive as the Peterborough Petes edged the host Kingston Frontencas 6-5 in overtime on Friday in Ontario Hockey League playoff action. Andrew Kittredge Rays Jersey .The seventh-seeded Raonic was scheduled to play U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori of Japan, but was replaced in the Group B pool by Spanish substitute David Ferrer.Raonic, who was 0-2 at the year-end event, said he suffered the injury late in the first set of Tuesdays 6-3, 7-6 loss to Murray.PORT ELIZABERTH, South Africa -- Canada will play Wales on Sunday in the Bowl competition at the Port Elizabeth Sevens after losing its three pool fixtures of the South African rugby tournament on Saturday. The Canadian mens team fell to South Africa 24-7, Kenya 24-12, and Spain 26-12 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. "To make those mistakes was disappointing and now we must pick ourselves up and turn up tomorrow," said head coach Geraint John. "We are better than that but we must deliver and I know we can." Canadas first game began after a minute of silence in memory of Nelson Mandela. After heading into the break down 17-0, Canada responded in the second half as Phil Mack ducked under a tackle and dove over close to the uprights. His kick pulled Canada back to within ten points, but South African replacement Kwagga Smith crossed to seal the win. Caanada found itself five minutes away from victory in its second match against Kenya, but two second-half scores from the Kenyan side sealed Canadas second loss of the day, making qualify for the Cup competition impossible.dddddddddddd In its third match, Spain bounced back from last weeks clash between the two sides, which Canada won 22-12, to take the victory. Spain came out of the blocks firing and opened the scoring inside a minute when Pablo Feijoo went over the line after finding a gap on the switch. Francisco Hernandez added the extra two points to leave Canada playing catch-up early on. The lead was cut a couple of minutes later when Hearns offload found Justin Douglas, who raced over for an unconverted score. Hearn added another score six minutes later to put Canada in front 12-7, but Spain replied with 19 unanswered points to seal the victory. ' ' '