Tiger roars at East Lake, then allows pack hope

Woods shot five consecutive birdies before cooling off in Georgia.

ATLANTA (AP) — A stunning six-hole stretch that Tiger Woods played in 7 under par gave him control of the Tour Championship on Friday.

He followed that with nine holes of mediocrity, which gave everyone else a chance.

Tearing apart a defenseless course at East Lake, Woods made five straight birdies and capped off his amazing run with a 70-foot eagle putt on the par-5 ninth hole to make the turn in 28.

But he went five holes before his next birdie, and he had to settle for a 7-under 63 that gave him a three-shot lead over Woody Austin.

Woods was at 13-under 127, his best start to a tournament since he was 15-under through 36 holes at Firestone in 2000, which he went on to win by 11 shots.

At least at East Lake, he has some competition.

Austin excels

Austin had his second straight 65 and will play in the final group with Woods, thankful he wasn’t too far behind.

“He’s not hard to beat if you’re playing as well and you’re right there,” Austin said. “But if you let him get in front of you, like I said, he’s hard to catch.”

Not hard to beat?

Remember, it was Austin who suggested he outplayed Woods in the second round of the PGA Championship, the day Woods tied a major championship record with 63 and Austin shot 70.

Austin went on to finish second at Southern Hills, and he’ll get a chance to play with the world’s No. 1 player today in presumably sunny conditions.

Thunder nearby

Woods and 19 other players had to return Friday morning to complete the first round, and he wound up play 25 holes and finishing in time to beat the rumble of thunder.

Woods’ string of birdies, which included a bunker shot he holed from 60 feet on No. 5, filled East Lake with plenty of electricity. But it might have taken all the drama out of the FedEx Cup finale.

Woods is atop the playoff standings, a victory would give him the cup and the $10 million prize. Steve Stricker, who needs to win to capture the cup, shot 67 and was nine shots behind.

Phil Mickelson, who can only claim the FedEx Cup if he wins the Tour Championship and Woods finishes worse than second, was seven shots behind after a 66.

In command with leads

Only a half-dozen players were within five shots of Woods, not a good sign considering Woods hasn’t lost a 36-hole lead in three years.

Tim Clark followed his record-tying 62 at East Lake with a 69 and in the group at 9-under 131 that included defending champion Adam Scott (66) and Mark Calcavecchia (66).

K.J. Choi, still mathematically alive for the FedEx Cup, had a 65 and moved to 8-under 132 along with Sergio Garcia (64).

Calcavecchia was atop the leaderboard at 9 under with a birdie on the 11th hole when he started hearing big roars on the other side of the golf course, and the video board kept showing Woods stretching the lead.

And what did he think about the 28 on the front?

“I was trying to figure out which holes he parred, actually,” Calcavecchia said. “First three? He got off to a bad start. He could be in a slump. I noticed he made a bogey. I think he’s losing it now.”

Woods did open with three pars, but his approach into 10 feet for birdie on No. 4 changed everything.

From the front left bunker on No. 5, 60 feet from a hole he couldn’t see, Woods’ blasted out and the ball bounced three times before dropping into the cup for birdie. The next three birdies were a product of good shots to soft greens, the ball making a “SPLAT” each time it landed.

And then the hole got in the way again.