Tiger in charge with 67 in 2nd round

Associated Press

SYDNEY

The latest comparison between Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus was not about winning majors.

It was about remembering how to win.

Woods took a big step toward putting himself in position Friday in the Australian Open with a second straight day of crisp, controlled shots for a 5-under 67 that gave him a one-shot lead over Peter O’Malley going into the weekend at The Lakes.

No one from his generation has more experience being in contention than Woods, a winner 82 times around the world. But those occasions have been rare over the last few years.

This is the first time Woods has been atop the leaderboard since the third round of the Chevron World Challenge last December, where he blew a four-shot lead to Graeme McDowell on the last day. It’s the first time he’s had the lead against a full field since his last win two years ago in the Australian Masters.

Woods knows as well as anyone that 36 holes is too early to crown a champion. The question is whether he will react in the manner that once came so naturally when a tournament is at stake. While in the process of rebuilding his swing and learning to trust it, getting into contention has not been as easy as it once seemed.

“I think experience comes with managing myself and my game,” Woods said. “I’ve been there a few times and I understand how to do it. All the things that can happen, I’ve experienced a lot of it.”

True, but he hasn’t experienced it since that Sunday at the Masters, when he was tied for the lead going to the back nine, shot even par as everyone behind him made birdies and tied for fourth. And before that was the Chevron World Challenge, when he had only one shot and couldn’t hold off McDowell.

“It comes back,” Woods said of knowing how to win. “When Jack won in ’86 at the Masters, it came back. You know what it feels like. You know what to do.”

Nicklaus had not won in two years and was thought to be past his time when he shot 30 on the back nine at Augusta National to claim his sixth green jacket and 18th professional major, the benchmark that Woods — still at 14 majors — now chases.

Jason Day, who turns 24 today, spent the opening two rounds playing with Woods and recovered from a few loose tee shots for a 68.