LEMONT, Ill. - Tiger Woods got off to the kind of start that puts records in danger. By the end of the round he was barely hanging on.
After birdies on three of his first five holes Woods struggled to play the rest of his round at 1 over par, scratching out 70 Friday. But with most of his competition faltering, that was good enough to keep him in the lead at the 100th Western Open.
"If I would have played better and still shot this number, I would have been pretty hot," Woods said. "But the way I drove it on the back nine and some of the iron shots I hit in there, yeah, you're a little bit disappointed.
"I hung in there and I didn't shoot myself out of the tournament, and I kept myself there at the top of the board. So overall it was still pretty good."
Woods was at 11-under 133 for the tournament. David Toms (69) was one back, and Cliff Kresge (68) and Scott Verplank (65) were two behind Woods.
Former Western Open champion Robert Allenby (67) was three strokes off the lead, and U.S. Open champ Jim Furyk (66), Robert Damron (69), Masters champ Mike Weir (70) and Heath Slocum (70) lurked four shots back.
There was a rain delay of 1 hour, 6 minutes early in the round. Because of forecasted storms today, groups will go off both tees.
Vance Veazey, who began the day one shot behind Woods, had a round so up-and-down he had to be dizzy by the time it was over. He made bogeys on four of his first five holes, then four straight birdies to get to 10 under.
But he gave back five shots over his last seven holes, including a double-bogey on 18 after going into the water. He finished at 75 and was six strokes behind Woods.
Woods tied a course and tournament record with 63 in the first round Thursday, a resounding answer to all those who say he's in a slump. And he looked as if he might go even lower early Friday.
He made a 1-footer for birdie on the first hole and a 15-footer on the third. After two-putting from 30 feet on the par-5 5th he was 12 under and looking as if he was going to have a round as hot and steamy as the temperatures at Cog Hill's Dubsdread course.
But as Woods is fond of saying, golf is a fickle sport. He was reminded of that again Friday.
"I got off to a perfect start," he said. "I just didn't quite keep it going."
Woods' troubles started on No.7, where he pushed his drive so far right the ball wound up buried in a clump of trees behind a cart path. He was clearly irked, taking a swing at his golf bag when he reached the trees.
He took a drop and hit into the lip of a greenside bunker. He managed to escape with bogey, and got the stroke back with a birdie on the par-5 9th.
But he found more trouble on the back nine.
A monster drive on the par-4 13th left him 150 yards from the hole, but he hooked his second shot into a bunker on the opposite side of the green from the pin. He blasted to within 3 feet but two-putted for bogey.
"You've got to go out there and hit good, quality shots. And I didn't do that today," he said. "I didn't hit the ball that well coming in. I didn't drive it very good.
"The only good thing is, I was really putting well. I just didn't give myself a whole lot of looks at birdies."
At least he finished well. He got off to a poor start on the 18th, putting his drive against the lip of a bunker. He blasted out to the fairway and hit a wedge to within about 10 feet of the hole.
It was a tough putt, with plenty of break, but he rolled it into the cup. Woods broke into a wide grin, taking a batting-practice swing with his club.
"Some days golf can be, as we all know, one of the easiest games we've ever played. And then the very next day, it's like, "Is this the same person?"' Woods said. "That's the challenge of it."
EUROPEAN OPEN: Darren Clarke shot 68 to share the lead with Phillip Price after two rounds of the European PGA Tour event in Straffan, Ireland.
Price, who had the first-round lead with Alistair Forsyth and Retief Goosen, shot 69 to stay on top. Both were at 9-under 135, one stroke ahead of teenager Charl Schwartzel and Forsyth. Schwartzel shot 64 Friday, Forsyth 70.
Goosen, a former U.S. Open champion, was five back after 74.
Padraig Harrington had problems again, but a 25-foot birdie putt from off the green on his last hole helped him to a second 73. He was right on the cut mark of 146.
