LEMONT, Ill. - Tiger Woods glanced over at the whooping, cheering, Sunday-sized crowd and couldn't help but grin.

Once in danger of seeing his extraordinary cut streak end, he not only made it to the weekend, but still has a shot at winning the Western Open.

"I just hope the leaders don't go off and hide," Woods said. "If (they don't) do that, there are a lot of guys right there with a chance."

He shot a shot a 2-over 73 on Friday to make the cut by a stroke with a 1-over 143 total.

Woods is still seven shots behind leaders Charles Howell III (67), Matt Gogel (64) and Steve Lowery (68). But the eight-time major champion went from flirting with the cut line to kissing the trophy before, and after Friday's round, anything is possible.

Beginning the day at 1 under and with the cut projected at 1 over, Woods got in trouble on the par-4 No. 3, his 12th hole. Using an iron off the tee, he hit his drive way left and into the rough. He appeared to rush his second shot, and it clipped a large willow and gave him with an even worse lie, in a gully of rough behind another tree.

"My adventures began from there," Woods said.

A vicious hack moved his ball a few measly feet. He finally punched out on his third try, then chipped onto the green and made a 10-foot putt for the double-bogey. Fans gave him encouraging cheers, but he hit his next tee shot left and into the rough again.

He still had a chance to save par, but his 19-foot putt rolled about 18 inches past the hole. That left him at 3 over for the tournament - two shots below the cut line.

"No," Woods said when asked if he'd ever thought about missing the cut. "I've experienced it once. Didn't like it very much."

Woods holds the PGA Tour record for consecutive cuts, a mark that stands at 126. The streak dates to his withdrawal from the 1998 Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and the only cut he's missed as a professional was in the 1997 Canadian Open at Royal Montreal.

But just when he seems finished, Woods puts on one of those amazing displays that only he can pull off.

"I honestly think he can tie one of his hands behind his back and make him play left-handed, and he would still make the cut," Howell said. "He just has an incredible knack of just getting it done."

On the sixth hole, Woods rolled a 60-foot uphill birdie putt so true it looked as if it was on a track to the hole. The crowd roared as it dropped in, and he lifted his putter in triumph and touched the tip of his cap, a brief smile of relief crossing his face.

He followed with a 10-footer on the next hole to get back to 1 over.

"I figured if I birdied the last five, I should put myself back at 2 under. That would have put me at five off the lead," he said. "That's kind of how I was focusing."

He missed a birdie on No. 8 when his 15-foot putt burned the left edged of the cup. And he seemed headed for more trouble off the tee again on the par-5 ninth, pushing his shot right and into a trap. His second shot clipped a tree and dropped straight down, leaving him 260 yards from the green.

But he made a beautiful recovery, hitting a 2-iron to 10 feet from the hole.

"Get there!" Woods yelled as the ball took off, and a few seconds later, whoops of appreciation told him it had.

He had to settle for par when his birdie putt slid 11 inches past the hole, but it was good enough to run his cut streak to 126.

"It's pride and playing. And always giving your best all the time," Woods said. "There are many times where I probably should have missed, but I made it just through determination. Or luck. Sometimes the cuts actually come back toward me.

"It's just one of those things where you've got to always play hard."

Divots: Scott Hoch had a hole in one on the par-3

14th, the 30th of his career. ... Greg Norman, playing at the Western for the first time since 1996, missed the cut at 8-over 150. ... Casey Wittenberg missed the cut in his pro debut, shooting a 10-over 152.

AP-ES-07-03-04 0140EDT