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The 34-year-old American sank 11 birdies in his
blemish-free round to match the course record Justin Thomas set
during his victorious 2015 campaign at the TPC Kuala Lumpur.
"I just played solid just like I did yesterday, I just made more
putts," said Woodland, who shares the top spot with Marc
Leishman at 14-under 130.
"I think I hit 17 greens, which obviously is a big deal, but I
made some putts, too, which is nice."
Woodland has not missed the tournament since 2013 and is hoping
to be third time lucky having finished second in 2013 and 2014.
"I can be aggressive out here. I can hit a lot of drivers, which
is a huge advantage. And the other holes, you know, irons into
some of the tougher holes, I'm laying back."
Leishman's bogey-free round of 62 filled him with title hopes.
"It would be nice to get in the winner's circle again this
year," said the Australian.
"I played well last year but didn't win anything, so that's
probably the goal - to win again. Just have to do everything
right and that generally takes care of itself. That's what I
intend to do."
Ryder Cup winner Paul Casey threw himself into the mix with a 65
to share the third spot with India's Shubhankar Sharma one shot
behind.
Sharma drained nine birdies against a single bogey for his 64.
"Just that one bad shot on the second, but other than that I was
hitting it pretty good," said the 22-year-old.
"So really happy with where I am right now and I just want to
continue doing that for the next two days."
Thomas, seeking a third CIMB Classic title, slipped to a share
of 15th place following a 69.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Sudipto
Ganguly)
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