SHANGHAI
Tiger Woods realized that no one was pulling away at the HSBC Champions yesterday, so he settled into a good groove with the putter and made sure he caught them.
Woods birdied five of his last 10 holes for another 5-under 67, giving him a share of the 36-hole lead with Nick Watney in the final World Golf Championship. Seven of the top nine players on the leaderboard are from the United States, and the possibility of another No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown looms with Phil Mickelson making three birdies in the last four holes for a 66 to finish one shot behind.
Woods has been runner-up twice at the HSBC Champions, and he put himself in contention again at Sheshan International. After consecutive holes failing to make birdie with a wedge in his hand, he knocked in a 10-foot birdie on the ninth and was on his way.
"I certainly had some looks and didn't really capitalize on anything," Woods said. "Made a putt on 9 and from then on, I hit a lot of good putts and basically played the last 10 holes at 5 under."
He reached the par-5 18th in two for one last birdie to catch Watney (70) at 10-under 134.
They were one shot clear of Mickelson, Ryan Moore (69) and Alvaro Quiros of Spain, who chose to lay up on the 18th instead of hitting 4-iron to the green because the putting surfaces were firm and quick. He settled for a par and a 66.
Leaders through second round
Tiger Woods 67-67--134
Nick Watney 64-70--134
Phil Mickelson 69-66--135
Alvaro Quiros 69-66--135
Ryan Moore 66-69--135
Anthony Kim 67-69--136
Pat Perez 68-69--137
Brian Gay 69-69--138
Jyoti Randhawa 68-70--138
Camilo Villegas 70-69--139
Ryo Ishikawa 72-67--139
Koumei Oda 70-69--139
Lin Wen-tang 67-72--139
Paul Casey 67-73--140
Francesco Molinari 73-67--140
Ross Fisher 70-70--140
Thongchai Jaidee 71-69--140
Martin Kaymer 66-74--140
Jason Dufner 69-71--140
James Kingston 70-70--140
Shane Lowry 66-74--140
Matt Kuchar 68-72--140
Henrik Stenson 69-72--141
Simon Dyson 72-69--141
Lee Westwood 70-71--141
Rory McIlroy 73-68--141
Ernie Els 70-71--141
Ian Poulter 72-69--141
Soren Kjeldsen 69-72--141
Alexander Noren 70-71--141
Daisuke Maruyama 72-69--141
Garth Mulroy 69-72--141
Rodney Pampling 69-72--141
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