Akron, Ohio ? Adam Scott has played better than anyone else in his last two rounds. Now if he can just work on his timing.

Four days after closing with a 67 for his best finish in a major, Scott made nine birdies over his last 12 holes Thursday for a 7-under 63, giving him a two-shot lead over Jason Gore and leaving him four shots clear of Tiger Woods in the Bridgestone Invitational.

Scott made his charge too late Sunday at Medinah to have any shot in the PGA Championship, where he tied for third.

Just his luck, they don’t award the trophy on Thursday.

But the 26-year-old Australian appears headed in that direction, especially the way he kept his tee shots in the short grass at Firestone South, which enabled him to fire at the flags.

“That was my hope coming into this week, to keep playing like I did last week,” Scott said. “I just tried to keep working on the same stuff and got it going a little today. I hit a lot of good iron shots and really took the pressure off my putting by hitting them so close.”