MIAMI — Rod Pampling was an unheralded Australian, still without a PGA Tour victory and having to qualify for major championships when he was invited to play a practice round at a major championship that would begin at dawn.

That meant playing with Tiger Woods.

The invitation came from Woods' caddie, Steve Williams, and the congenial Aussie jumped at the chance. Now, he's lost track of how many times he has met Woods on the first tee of a major. And he doesn't doubt it has done him a world of good.

"You just like to see the way he gets around the golf course," Pampling said. "A lot of them, I don't get to see through the year. He's pretty open with his information, And you have some fun out there."

Their next round takes place Saturday under different circumstances.

They will be in the final group at the CA Championship, a World Golf Championship at Doral that doesn't look anything like previous PGA Tour stops on the Blue Monster with the wind and high scores.

The only sign of familiarity was Woods atop the leaderboard, two shots clear of Pampling.

With a 10-foot par putt that Woods felt was as important as any of his six birdies, he found the key that had been missing and rolled off three straight birdies on his way to a 6-under 66, putting him back on track for his third straight victory at Doral, and his third straight in this WGC event.

"Anytime you make big par putts, I think it's more important to make those than birdie putts," Woods said. "You don't ever want to drop a shot. The psychological difference between dropping a shot and making a birdie, I just think it's bigger to make a par putt. And I was able to make those."

Woods was at 7-under 137 and brings to the first tee a 26-6 record on the PGA Tour when he has at least a share of the 36-hole lead. Whatever golf he brings shouldn't be a surprise to Pampling, a 37-year-old who now has two PGA victories.

The surprise to "Pamps" is that more guys haven't played with Woods in practice rounds at the majors.

"It's just whether or not they want to get up at 6 o'clock and go play with him," Pampling said. "He gets out there in the dark, so you've got to get out there early. Having two kids, you're up and ready to go, anyway. It's nice to get out there and learn something."

The conditions have been the biggest change at a tournament, which has led to some scores not usually found at Doral.

A year ago, the cut was made at 4-under par. Now, that's good enough for third place, a group that includes Ernie Els (70), Henrik Stenson (73), Charles Howell III (71), Thomas Bjorn (72) and Trevor Immelman (68).