Major pain: Woods owns share of lead

SAN FRANCISCO - There were no fist pumps for Tiger Woods on Friday, just a deep breath and a slow exhale. Jim Furyk walked most of the 7,170 yards at Olympic Club with his head down. David Toms couldn't think of a single shot he hit without his full attention.

They were not the survivors of the U.S. Open. They were the leaders.

And it's no coincidence that all of them have been tested in the majors, none more often than Woods, who survived a patch of bogeys early in the second round for an even-par 70 that took him another step closer to a 15th major title.

"I know that it takes a bit out of us, but so be it," Woods said. "Much rather be there than missing cuts or just making the cut. So it's a wonderful place to be with a chance to win your nation's open."

Just when this U.S. Open was starting to look like child's play, a trio of major champions took it back.

Furyk rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt from off the third green in the morning on the way to a 69. Woods and Toms, who showed a steady hand with the putter for a 70, joined him in the afternoon when the conditions were fiery and emotions were frayed.

They were the only players to beat par for 36 holes at 1-under 139.

And they restored some sanity to a major that for a brief and stunning moment had been taken over by a 17-year-old who only two weeks ago didn't even win his state high school championship. Beau Hossler took the outright lead on one of the toughest holes at Olympic, rolling in a 6-foot birdie putt on the 520-yard first hole that put him at 2 under. However, he got lost in the thick rough and trees on the remainder of the brutal front nine, dropping five shots in eight holes for a 73 that left him four shots behind.

"Unfortunately," he said, "I kind of lost it coming in."

That wasn't the only surprise.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy missed the cut for the fourth time in his last five tournaments. He set a U.S. Open record last year at Congressional with a 131 through 36 holes. He was 19 shots worse at Olympic, with a 73 giving him a two-day score of 150.

"It wasn't the way I wanted to play," he said.

Also leaving far earlier than anyone expected were Luke Donald, the world's No. 1 player, Masters champion Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson, coming off a win last week at the St. Jude Classic.

It doesn't take much at this U.S. Open to swallow up even the best players.

When the last group trudged up the hill toward the stately clubhouse at Olympic, the experience at the top of the leaderboard was impossible to ignore.

"Whoever wins this golf tournament is going to be a great champion, somebody that's probably won events before, that can handle the emotions and can handle the adversity in a U.S. Open, and somebody with experience," Toms said. "At least that's what I think. You never know. Strange things can happen, but I would think that you would see a lot of that on the leaderboard come late Sunday."

It starts with Woods, who is coming off his second win of the year at the Memorial and looks as strong as ever. Hitting shots both directions, mainly with irons off the tees, he overcame three straight bogeys on his front nine.

His only regret was not taking advantage of having a wedge in his hand on the last three holes, all birdie opportunities that became pars.

When he regained a share of the lead with Furyk on the 13th with a 4-foot birdie putt, Woods was coming up on a stretch of holes that allowed players to at least think of making birdie. In a greenside bunker in two on the par-5 16th - shortened to 609 yards Friday - Woods blasted out weakly and missed a 12-foot putt. With a mid-iron in his hand on the par-5 17th, he went over the green and down a deep slope. Despite pitching to 8 feet, he missed the putt.

And with a wedge from the fairway on the 18th, he came up well short and into a bunker, having to settle for par.

"This tournament, you're just plodding along," Woods said. "This is a different tournament. You have to stay patient, stay present, and you're just playing for a lot of pars. This is not a tournament where we have to make a bunch of birdies."

Graeme McDowell, the U.S. Open champion two years ago down the coast at Pebble Beach, dropped three shots on his last four holes for a 72. Even so, he was very much in the hunt two shots behind at 141, along with recent Louisiana State alumnus John Peterson (70), Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium (69) and Michael Thompson, the first-round leader who followed his 66 with a 75.

"It's just tough to have fun out there," McDowell said.

Woods had won eight straight times when he had at least a share of the lead going into the weekend at the majors, a streak that ended at the 2009 PGA Championship when Y.E. Yang chased him down from four shots back. Woods hasn't seriously contended in the final hour of a major since then.

And a stern test awaits on the weekend. Asked for a winning score, McDowell deferred to the USGA.

"They can have whatever they want," he said. "If they want 5 over to win, 10 over to win it ... they can hide these pins away. I would have to imagine around level par."