DUBLIN, Ohio -- Paul Casey expected to be chasing someone Friday in the Memorial, figuring it would be Rory McIlroy. After two holes, Casey had the lead to himself at Muirfield Village, and that was only the start of another big day. He took advantage of the par 5s for another 6-under 66, giving him a three-shot lead over Masters champion Bubba Watson going into the weekend. McIlroy, whose 63 was the lowest first round in the 39-year history of the tournament, was barely in the picture. He was 15 shots worse with a 78, courtesy of three straight double bogeys and his fourth straight PGA Tour event with a nine-hole score of 40 or higher. McIlroy went from a three-shot lead to nine shots behind. "To be honest, I thought I was going to be playing a round to try and maybe catch a couple of guys," Casey said. "I woke up checking the scores to see what Rory was going to be. Thats really what I was going to be doing -- see how many under I was going to have to try to shoot to chase. Obviously, that didnt happen." Casey, taking another step on a long road back from injuries that nearly derailed his career, was at 12-under 132. He made his first birdie with his best drive of the day on the par-5 11th, setting up a 4-iron onto the green for a two-putt birdie. He made eagle on the par-5 15th hole for the second straight day, and he stuffed it close around the turn for birdies to start pulling away from the field. Watson gave him a good run in an active round that featured six birdies, five bogeys and an eagle. He only was angry at a few shots where he failed to concentrate. Even so, a bogey-bogey finish wasnt enough to entirely ruin his day. Watson has never finished better than 23rd in eight previous appearances. "I cant look at the bogeys," Watson said. "Ive got to look at where Im at. If you told me its my best two days around this golf course, Id take it." Chris Kirk (70) was four shots behind. Hideki Matsuyama (67) and Martin Flores (68) were five back. Adam Scott, who won Colonial in his debut at No. 1 in the world, shot 70 and was at 5-under 139, still in the mix depending on how Casey fares on the weekend. Phil Mickelson was happy to get in two more rounds. He shot a 70, though he was 10 shots back. Canadian Mike Weir failed to make the cut after an even par 72 on Friday to finish 1-over through two days. Casey, once a Ryder Cup regular who reached as high as No. 3 in the world, is slowly getting his game and his life back in the right place. He endured injuries to his shoulder and his toe that kept him winless for more than two years. He went through a divorce. He wondered if he would ever return to the brand of golf he was capable of playing. Weeks like this offer promise. Casey won the Irish Open a year ago with what he called "spectacular" golf. The game is still there. "Its slowly crawling along and making progress, climbing back up the ladder, however you want to phrase it," Casey said. "Its very difficult when youve played to a certain level and then ... I genuinely had no clue how to play to that level. "Luckily, I didnt think about that too long." His life is back in order. Casey is married to British television presenter Pollyanna Woodward. They are expecting their first child (a boy) in September. He talks about having perspective, knowing where golf fits on his list of whats important. His golf has looked familiar over the last two days. McIlroy could say the same. Except for last week at the BMW PGA Championship in England, which he won with birdies on the last two holes, McIlroys good golf has been stalled by bad patches, and Friday was no exception. In fact, it nearly has become the rule. He shot a 43 on the back nine -- he started the round at No. 10 -- making this the fourth consecutive PGA Tour event where he shot at least 40 over nine holes. All of them have been in the second round. McIlroy twice hit the trees on the 13th hole and made double bogey. He hit into the water on the 14th for double bogey. And then he double-hit a wedge on the 15th to make it three straight double bogeys. "These little runs Im getting on where it gets away from me, I was able to avoid that last week," McIlroy said. "Not so much this week. Even though I had such a bad day, Im still in with a chance depending on what the guys do this afternoon. So going into the weekend, not exactly where I want to be. But it could be worse." Casey simple made it a lot harder. Peter Forsberg Jersey . TSN was honoured with several awards, with Rod Smith and James Duthie sharing the win for Best Sports Host for SportsCentre and the NHL: Season On The Brink coverage, respectively. Custom Colorado Avalanche Jerseys .C., has been named Canadas top female official, winning the 2014 SOC Award of Excellence. 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The Kansas City Royals acquired outfielder Norichika Aoki from Milwaukee to be their leadoff hitter Thursday, which also means the Brewers are likely to shift Ryan Braun to right field. Milwaukee received left-hander Will Smith, who spent most of the past couple seasons shuffling between Kansas City and Triple-A Omaha, and between the bullpen and the starting rotation. Royals general manager Dayton Moore on a conference call that he envisions Aoki batting at the top of the order, just as he did with the Brewers, which would allow Alex Gordon to slide down into an RBI-producing role. Aoki hit .286 with eight homers, 37 RBIs and 20 steals last season. Aoki, who turns 32 next month, also ranked second in the majors with 40 infield hits, and .339 against left-handed pitching, the best average by a left-handed hitter in the big leagues. He struck out just 40 times in 674 plate appearances. "We like his energy, we like his work ethic. Hes a pro," Moore said. "We had a chance to see him a lot in Japan coming up. ... Well see how it plays out." Aoki, who is in the last year of his contract, is due $1.25 million this season. He can also make up to $1,087,500 in performance bonuses based on starts and games played. The Royals already bolstered their rotation this off-season by agreeing to a four-year, $32 million deal with Jason Vargas. Now theyve acquired the leadoff hitter they have long coveted. Moore said hes still working on adding an impact bat, especially in the outfield. Veteran outfielder Carlos Beltran, who began his career with the Royals, spent time in Kansas City earlier this week. Hes reportedly seeking a three-year, $48 million deal. "Theyre far and few," Moore said. "That being said, thats an area were trying to pursue, but let me say this, we definitely feel all our offensive players are still improving. They have not reached their peak performance. Theyre going to continue to get better." By moving Aoki, the Brewers could head into next season with rookie Khris Davis in left field, Gold Glove-winner Carlos Gomez in centre aand Braun in right.dddddddddddd Braun is expected back after his season-ending, 65-game suspension for violating Major League Baseballs anti-drug agreement. Davis emerged down the stretch last season, filling in for Braun in left by hitting .279 with 11 homers. Brewers general manager Doug Melvin had said in late September there were discussions within the organization about whether to move Braun across the outfield. "The thinking is its a little easier to find left fielders than it is right fielders," Melvin said. "If youre trying to field right field with a platoon situation, then both guys have to be able to throw well. Both guys have to be good defenders." Melvin said hes been watching Smith for a couple years. He called Smith a "24-year-old, big, physical left-hander who we feel can be part of our staff." The Brewers finished last season with five right-handed starters, headlined by Yovani Gallardo and Kyle Lohse, and Smith gives them an option for a left-hander to slot into the rotation. He went 6-9 with a 5.32 ERA in 16 starts two years ago. Smith went 8-10 with a 4.76 ERA in 35 games, including 17 starts, during his time in Kansas City. He was 2-1 with a 3.24 ERA last year, with 43 strikeouts in 33 innings, pitching primarily in relief. Smith said Thursday that while he developed a slider to complement his fastball during relief work, "I am excited to get a shot back in the rotation." And yes, hes preparing to hear a fresh round of jokes from his new team about sharing the same name as the famous Hollywood actor. "I get them all the time," the easygoing Smith said in a conference call. "I think Im just learning to live with it ... Its all good." The Royals deep bullpen ultimately made Smith expendable. "I feel like our team is improved with the signing of Jason Vargas and the trade for Nori," Moore said, "knowing full well were going to have to continue to look for ways to improve if were going to win a world championship. I dont view this move as us being complete." 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