Picking Up Speed

Woods made four par-saving putts outside 6 feet in his round, and the most significant came on the 17th and 18th.

He left a 70-foot birdie putt some 8 feet short, then made that to keep his momentum. His approach into the wind on the 18th went just long, and while his chip was as good as he could hit it, the ball rolled 8 feet by the hole. He made that coming back.

"I didn't want to lose any momentum," he said. "It was nice to make that putt at 17 and not three-putt. I hit two good shots on 18 and then left myself that putt. Stevie (Williams) was saying, 'Geez, you've had three quality shots and you've got an 8-footer for par.' Might as well make it four quality shots."

More quality came from Scott, at least until the end of the round.

Despite hitting into the water and taking bogey on the par-5 eighth, Scott climbed steadily up the leaderboard and was tied with Woods until hitting his tee shot on the 17th into bushes, forcing him to play left-handed. It was a beautiful swing from the other side, the club reaching parallel on his swing, and he advanced it 50 yards. But he missed a 10-foot par putt, then hit his next tee shot in the water.

"Disappointing finish with two bogeys," said Scott, who was at 9-under 135. "I'll get focused for tomorrow and try and make up a few shots on the leaders."

Halfway through the tournament, it could be a three-man race, for no one else was closer than six shots to Ogilvy. And having Woods among the leaders makes it even more deflating for someone to catch them.

Steve Stricker holed a pitch shot for eagle and had several good chances to move closer to the leaders, but he had to settle for a 68 and was seven shots behind. Phil Mickelson missed several short putts that rode around the lip and had a 74, leaving him nine shots behind.

And with Woods in the final group, that lowers the odds of too many players coming from behind.

"Seven in a row? Six in a row? It's pretty impressive," Ogilvy said. "That's a good career. But I mean, so many things can go wrong in a week, even if you're going well. That he just seems to even ride those out, it's pretty good."