Woods fires 66 but trails Singh, Furyk by three

Three players shot better than Tiger in Friday's second round.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. -- Usually, when Tiger Woods shoots 66 in the second round of the U.S. Open, it means that he has taken a stranglehold on first place and served notice to the field that he will be tough to catch.
On Friday, however, Woods shot a 66 in the second round of the U.S. Open at Olympia Fields Country Club and didn't lead. In fact, his score wasn't even the best round of the day.
Three players shot better, including journeyman pro Woody Austin, who had a 64.
Eduardo Romero, a month shy of his 49th birthday, matched Woods' 66.
Trip Kuehne, who lost to Woods in the 1994 U.S. Amateur and now works for Legg Mason, had a 67, the low round by an amateur.
What is this, the U.S. Open or the B.C. Open?
The U.S. Open is known for its ability to bring the best players in the world to their knees. It yields low scores only when a player can keep the ball out of deep, gnarly rough, effectively putt greens the texture of linoleum, and keep the jitters under control on every shot.
38 golfers beat par
But 38 players shot under-par rounds on Friday, bringing the two-day total to 62. Only four contestants broke par during the rainy second round of last year's Open at Bethpage Black, including Woods, whose 68 gave him a 3-stroke lead on his way to the championship.
A cool and wet spring has prevented the rough at Olympia Fields from getting thick and dense, giving players a good chance of hitting greens from there.
Sunshine has been limited the first two days, meaning the greens can't get firm, much less baked as in many Opens. So the players can feel free to fire at flags.
For Woods and his colleagues, though, that's not all bad.
"I think this tournament has been fairer than we've seen in the past with the setup," Woods said after completing two rounds at 4-under 136 -- 3 shots behind leaders Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh.
"It's not as severe. A lot of it is just because it's softer. If this golf course was baked out, you wouldn't see these scores."
As for the rough, Woods said that instead of the usual one option -- hacking the ball out sideways into the fairway -- a player now has three.
"You get no lie, have a shot at getting to the green, or have a perfect lie," he said. "We haven't normally had that opportunity at U.S. Opens. Usually, [the ball] sits down all the way at the bottom. For some reason, you can get some pretty good lies out here."
Woods said he got a couple of good lies in the rough. He drove into the rough on both par-5s but made birdie, including one at No. 6, where he crushed a 3-wood onto the green from the deep stuff.