STROKE OF THE DAY

"A good golf course makes you want to play so badly that you hardly have the time to change your shoes. "

Tiger Woods’ book of memorable moments at Torrey Pines Golf Course was already pretty thick heading into Friday’s second round of the 2008 U.S. Open.

Still, the world’s No. 1 player managed to add yet another astonishing chapter to that volume – and he’s poised to continue adding to it heading into the weekend.

After struggling with a 2-over-par 38 on the back nine – his first nine of the day – Woods made five birdies and no bogeys on the front nine of the South Course on his way to a 3-under 68 and a share of second place at 2-under par, one stroke behind leader Stuart Appleby.

Appleby engineered his share of excitement, including a 40-foot birdie putt on the 18^th.

But when the day was done, the buzz belonged to Woods, who reigned supreme among heralded playing partners Phil Mickelson (75) and Adam Scott (73).

“I was just trying to get back to even par for the tournament,” said Woods. “All of a sudden, I started running [putts] in from everywhere.”

His four bogeys on the back side would have been more detrimental if not for an eagle on the par-5 13^th, which was playing at 599 yards from one of the new, longer tee boxes. Nevertheless, Woods stood at 3-over par on the No. 1 tee and pushed his drive right alongside the cart path.

That’s when the buzz got louder.

Rather than taking a drop and risking a more difficult angle to the green, he took his stance on the cart path and hit an 8-iron from a decent lie through the trees onto the green, where he proceeded to make his first birdie. He slipped a little on his follow-through and came out limping on his recently-operated left knee, but the limp dissipated as he neared the putting surface.

“[I] would have been right behind the tree, [with] no shot,” said the Cypress native, who added that he “would have much rather have the lie” despite the risk of hitting off the cart path wearing metal spikes.

Another birdie on the second hole was followed by two more on Nos. 4 and 5, and he added another for good measure on the par-5 ninth to grab a share of second place with fellow Florida resident Rocco Mediate (71) and Swede Robert Karlsson (70).

Woods is in excellent position for the weekend, though he still trails Appleby, who has 13 worldwide wins and is searching for his first major title. He’s also quite cognizant of his most prominent pursuer, who will be playing one group ahead during Saturday’s third round.

“Getting in your own world is certainly harder to do. But I think we’re very much used to it, so it shouldn’t be a surprise,” Appleby said in reference to being in the vicinity of Woods during a tournament.

“And I’ll be doing my best to accidentally throw a club towards his sore left knee,” he joked.

There were times during Friday’s second round when the South Course seemed to be playing noticeably more difficult than Thursday’s first round, mostly because of breezes that kicked up in the early afternoon. But two players – Miguel Angel Jimenez (66) and Padraig Harrington (67) – both bested yesterday’s low round of 68, and there were 13 rounds in red numbers compared to 11 the first day.

Mickelson, the world’s No. 2 player, couldn’t build on the momentum of an even-par 71 the first day and found himself constantly hacking balls out of the thick rough.

“It was a tough day for me today,” said the Rancho Santa Fe resident. “I thought that the course was set up as fair as I’ve ever seen it. If you play well you can shoot a number, and I didn’t hit enough fairways today.”

At 4-over par for the championship, Mickelson is not counting himself out on a track he knows as well as any in professional golf.

“A good round tomorrow gets me in it for Sunday, and that’s the goal,” he added.

Los Angeles native Anthony Kim will be in the first pairing at 8:30 tomorrow morning, and the final group of Mediate and Appleby will tee off at 3:00 in the afternoon.

Be sure to check back to Southland Golf throughout the final two rounds of the 2008 U.S. Open for up-to-the-minute reports and live scoring.