Tiger Woods took a one-shot lead in the Tour Championship on Friday, missing a chance to build a more comfortable cushion heading into the weekend.
A closing bogey gave Woods a two-under 68 at East Lake and a five-under total of 135.
He was one shot in front of Ireland’s Padraig Harrington (69) and Sean O’Hair of the US (70).
South African Ernie Els was a further shot back on 137 after a 66 that included five birdies in his last 10 holes.
Woods looked capable of stretching his lead, but missed eagle and birdie opportunities coming in.
“The day as a whole was a good day,” Woods said.
Woods took control with three straight birdies from the seventh. He maintained his momentum with a great par save at 13, where he was in a bunker, then in a tough lie in the rough. He chipped to within 20 feet and rolled in a par putt.
At the par-five 15th his eagle attempt kissed the left lip of the hole and he settled for a birdie. At 16 he had a birdie putt of about four feet and again burned the left edge.
“Fifteen is OK, that’s fine, that happens. Sixteen was just a bad putt,” Woods said.
At the par-three 18th, Woods hit a four-iron that landed left of the green against the grandstand en route to a bogey.
Even so, Woods was perfectly poised to capture the USPGA Tour’s FedEx Cup series title and the US$10 million bonus that goes with it.
None of the other top five seeds — who can all claim the series title with a tournament victory today — were among the top 10 at the halfway stage.
Harrington would have to win the Tour Championship and also have Woods finish in at best a two-way tie for second, while O’Hair would have to win and have Woods finish in at best a three-way tie for second.
O’Hair said there was no point agonizing over the possible scenarios that could deliver the bonus. Instead he was focusing on one thing — winning the tournament.
“If I win this golf tournament and Tiger finishes second ... I’m going to be throwing a big party and jumping with joy,” O’Hair said. “If I don’t win the 10 million bucks, I should have played better.”
In the third round, Woods will be paired with Harrington, who missed a six-footer to save par at 14 and a five-foot birdie opportunity at 17.
“I’m in good position as regards to the tournament, probably not the best position as regards to the FedEx Cup,” Harrington said. “It’s a little bit out of my control, but I’m looking forward to the weekend. I left a few shots out there toward the end, but overall I knew there was another 36 holes to play.”
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