It's about time he won another. It's past time, actually.
Since he won the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines on a broken leg, Woods has been in the lead of a major after 36 holes only once, at the 2009 PGA Championship. Interestingly enough, he didn't win that tournament; he was caught at the end by Y.E. Yang, making it the only time on the nine occasions that Woods has been in or tied for the lead at the halfway mark of a major that he has not won.
Three months later, he drove his car into that fire hydrant on Thanksgiving weekend, triggering a massive personal scandal and fall from grace that affected his game for months.
After 36 holes of the 2012 U.S. Open, Woods is at 1 under par and tied with two fellow American veterans, Jim Furyk and David Toms. They are two strokes ahead of their nearest pursuers, including first-round leader Michael Thompson and 2010 Open champion Graeme McDowell.
Although Furyk and Toms are major champions and fine competitors, this definitely is Woods' championship to win, or lose. The timing appears to be perfect for him. He says he "absolutely" feels more comfortable with his swing than he has in a long time. And the competition he will face Saturday and Sunday isn't as strong as it might have been: defending champion Rory McIlroy and world No. 1 Luke Donald have missed the cut, while third-ranked Lee Westwood is six behind the leaders and Phil Mickelson is eight back.
"I think I'm in a good spot," Woods said after his round of even-par 70. "I'm right there in a good spot. So I'm looking forward to it and going off late (Saturday), so I'll get some good rest."
Bottom line: This is his best chance to win a major in nearly three years, and his greatest opportunity to quiet the skeptics who have questioned whether he'll ever win another major after the events of 2009. If he doesn't win here, the drumbeat will only get louder.
Woods is aware of the pressure he's facing. He looked to be in good position after the first round of the Masters little more than two months ago but had trouble the rest of the way and finished tied for 40th.
He doesn't want to get ahead of himself this time around.
"This tournament you just plod along," he said. "This is a different tournament. You have to stay patient, got to stay present and you're just playing for a lot of pars."
There was a time Friday when Woods was not in the lead. That's because a Southern California high school student less than half his age, 17-year-old Beau Hossler, was atop the leaderboard at 2 under par after making birdie on No. 1, his 11th hole Friday.
Reality soon set in and Hossler ended the second round 3 over for the tournament, tied for ninth, but leave it to the kid to put it all in perspective:
"I was pretty excited about it," Hossler said, "but then again, I had another 40 holes at least to be playing in the tournament."
If Woods' game is truly back, he can and should win this Open. If he doesn't, he will have squandered a superb opportunity, and the wait for his 15th major will continue, with a growing sense of tension and urgency.
Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomSports-TopStories/~3/tedI0s9xHhs/1
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