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CHARLOTTE, North Carolina - Tiger Woods, putting superbly but not swinging at his best, surged into a three-way tie for the lead in the Wachovia golf championship second round today.
The world number one, seeking his first victory at the tree-lined Quail Hollow Club, fired a four-under-par 68 in chilly, overcast conditions to finish on six-under 138.
That left Woods level with 2005 champion Vijay Singh, who recovered from five bogeys in an erratic outward nine to shoot a 71, and American Arron Oberholser, who birdied his last three holes for a 69.
Two more Americans, Ted Purdy (69) and Jason Bohn (72), were a further stroke back in fourth place.
Overnight pacesetter Padraig Harrington held a share of the lead with one hole remaining before triple-bogeying the difficult par-four 18th for a 75 to slip back to three under.
The Irishman, who found water at the last with his second shot and three-putted from 15 feet, experienced a roller-coaster day which included three bogeys in his first four holes and a four-birdie run from the 10th.
Woods, playing his first tournament since tying for second at the Masters three weeks ago, felt he got the most of out of a round that featured five birdies and a bogey at the par-four ninth, his final hole.
"I was struggling with my swing a little bit and I had to keep focus on what I was doing," the 31-year-old American told reporters after missing nine fairways out of 14. "I didn't hit it very well today and I've got to go fix a few things.
"But I'm very pleased with my score. I felt like I pretty much have maximised my two rounds here.
"Today was part of a pretty good balance. I missed a couple of short ones but also got away with a couple of bad drives and made a pretty good up-and-down after a terrible iron shot at three."
Woods birdied the 10th, 12th and 14th, where he struck a nine-iron to five feet, before reaching the turn in three-under 33.
He picked up further shots at the fourth and seventh, after hitting nine-iron approaches to within four feet, before stumbling at the ninth where he pulled his drive left into trees.
"Overall, I felt I made a couple of good par saves to keep the middle part of my round going," said Woods, who has tied for third and 11th in his previous two appearances at Quail Hollow.
"From there, I played pretty good coming in. I hit a lot of good putts today."
Singh, who won the 2005 title in a playoff with Jim Furyk and Sergio Garcia, warmed up after his poor start and raised hopes of a weekend duel with Woods by stylishly finishing eagle-birdie-par.
"I couldn't get the greens this morning, I don't know why," said Singh who, like Woods, is a double winner on PGA Tour this season. "Maybe the temperature change did something to my hands.
"Finishing eagle-birdie-par, that was very comfortable," added the Fijian, who set up his eagle at the par-five seventh with a superb three-iron to three feet. "I'll take my position right now."
Three-times major winner Phil Mickelson, playing his second tournament since switching allegiance to swing coach Butch Harmon, finished level with Harrington in a tie for seventh at three under after a 71.
World number five Ernie Els, who has not won on the PGA Tour for nearly three years, was a further four shots back following a 74.
The halfway cut fell at three-over 147 with 85 players qualifying for the weekend. Among those missing out were world number two Furyk, the defending champion, and British duo Luke Donald and Ian Poulter.
- REUTERS
