Tiger makes title move
ATLANTA — Tiger Woods never bothered to study all the possibilities of the FedEx Cup.
That's why he was stunned to learn that he could win three straight playoff events and still not be assured of winning the big prize. And despite his six victories this year — twice as many as anyone else — there were four other players at the Tour Championship who could win the final tournament and beat him out for the FedEx Cup.
Instead, he has stuck to a familiar formula — just go win the tournament.
Woods executed that part to near-perfection over two days at East Lake, in sweltering heat that has made the greens especially firm. And even though he missed two short putts on the closing holes, then took bogey on the 18th, he still carved out a 2-under 68 Friday that gave him a one-shot lead going into the weekend.
"The day as a whole was a good day," Woods said. "I shot under par, and I got myself ... in the lead."
Next up are a pair of familiar foes.
Woods was at 5-under 135 and had a one-shot lead over Padraig Harrington (69) and Sean O'Hair (70). He is friendly with both of them in different ways.
Woods has immense respect for Harrington because of the Irishman's work ethic, which has led to three major championships over the last three years. They have spent plenty of time together this year, and Saturday morning was the ninth time they have been in the same group on the PGA Tour. Woods has outscored him on all but one occasion.
Woods thinks enough of O'Hair that he spent extra time during their back-nine practice round Wednesday to impart some advice on putting. They were paired together in the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, when Woods rallied from a five-shot deficit for his first victory following knee surgery. O'Hair found redemption two months later at Quail Hollow, when he trailed Woods by one shot and the leader by three, and won his biggest PGA Tour event to date.
There is more than a threesome with a chance to win, however.
Ernie Els made a few good putts, a reminder of what this game can be all about. After missing everything in the opening round of 71, he made everything Friday for a 66 that put him only two shots out of the lead.
Right behind was Kenny Perry, who figured out how to cope with the heat and shot 66 to finish on 2-under 138, along with Jerry Kelly. There were 10 players within four shots of Woods' lead, including a trio of major champions this year — Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover and Stewart Cink — at 1-under 139.
