SAN DIEGO — Tiger Woods made it look easy on a dreary day at Torrey Pines and wound up in a place he hasn’t been in five years.
He had the 36-hole lead by himself at one of his favorite PGA Tour stops.
Woods didn’t miss a shot during a four-hole stretch around the turn on the North Course that included a 5-iron to 5 feet for eagle and a wedge that one-hopped off the pin to set up birdie. It carried him to a 7-under-par 65 Friday and gave him a two-shot lead in the Farmers Insurance Open.
“I feel good right now,” Woods said. “I’m leading the tournament.”
Woods was at 11-under 133 and had a two-shot lead over Billy Horschel, with six other players two shots behind. Already a favorite with seven victories as a pro at Torrey Pines, Woods had even more in his favor going into the weekend. He had a 74-0 edge in PGA Tour victories against the next seven players behind him.
Horschel, who had to go back to qualifying school to get his card last year, had a 69 on the South Course to get into the final group.
“It’s a good day and I’m excited about tomorrow - I get to play with Tiger,” Horschel said. “I found out when I tapped in for par. I realized he was leading and I was in second place. So yeah, looking forward to that.”
Woods caught a break in the draw by playing the easier North - it’s about 600 yards shorter - on a day of light rain, a late breeze and soft conditions. But he kept the ball in play off the tee, and he only got in trouble once. That was on the par-4 eighth hole when he drove into a tough lie in the bunker, and it led to his only bogey.
There’s a simple formula for playing the North - make birdie on the par 5s and pick up a few more on the short par 4s. And that’s just what he did.
Woods missed birdie putts inside 8 feet on the opening two holes and was taking baby steps until he took off. It started with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th. He followed with the 5-iron that landed just left of the pin on the 18th, a two-putt birdie on the par-5 first hole, and his wedge that took one hop, struck the flag and settled 4 feet away.
It was similar to Thursday on the South Course when he played a five-hole stretch in 5 under, only this time Woods finished strong. His approach to the seventh spun back and ran over the cup to set up a short birdie, and he finished off his routine day with a 5-wood onto the ninth green for another two-putt birdie.
“Drive the ball well here and you’re going to probably have four-iron shots into the par 5s,” Woods said. “You sprinkle that in with probably four or five wedge shots in there, a round of 6 or 7 under par is definitely conceivable.”
Brad Fritsch, a rookie from Canada, had a 67 on the South Course to lead the group of six players at 8-under 136. The others were Casey Wittenberg, Steve Marino, Jimmy Walker, Josh Teater and Erik Compton, whom Woods referred to as “remarkable” for being a two-time heart transplant recipient and being on the PGA Tour.
Tag Ridings (Arkansas Razorbacks) is another shot back after a bogey-free 70 with two birdies on the North.
Defending champion Brandt Snedeker didn’t fare so well. After opening with a 65 on the North, he made only one birdie and twice took bogey on the par 5s on his way to a 75 that left him seven shots behind, along with Bryce Molder (Conway), who shot a 72 with three birdies and three bogeys. K.J. Choi, who had a 65 on the South Course, couldn’t break par on the easier North and had a 73 to fall five behind.
Phil Mickelson struggled to keep his hands dry in the wet weather and finished bogey-bogey on the South for a 71 to make the cut on the number, though his work isn’t over. There were 87 players who made the cut at 1-under143, including Scott Gardiner (Farmington), meaning there will be another cut to top 70 and ties today. Gardiner shot a 73 with a birdie and two bogeys.
Failing to make the cut were David Lingmerth (Razorbacks), who shot a 73 with five birdies and six bogeys for 145, and John Daly (Dardanelle, Razorbacks), who shot a 72 with three birdies, a bogey and a double bogey for 146.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Wood leads by three
DOHA, Qatar - Chris Wood shot an 8-under-par 64 Friday for a three-stroke lead on Michael Campbell and two others after the third round of the Qatar Masters.
Wood started the day two shots behind Ryder Cup stars Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer but moved up the leaderboard with five birdies on the front nine en route to a 15-under 201.
He had an eagle at the 10th when his second shot landed within 10 feet of the pin. He missed a short putt on the 12th for bogey but had birdies on the 14th and 16th to match fellow Englishman Simon Khan, who also shot a 64 Friday, for the low round of the tournament.
“I played pretty nicely. I wouldn’t say it’s one of my best,” Wood said. “I played similar to the way I played on Wednesday, the first round. Shot 67, could have been a few better.”
Khan joined Campbell (68) and Alexander Noren (66) in second place. Garcia (70) fell into a tie for fifth with Brandon Grace (67) of South Africa, four shots behind.
The 142nd-ranked Wood is looking for his first European Tour victory in his 115th event.
Leaderboard
PGA TOUR Farmers Insurance Open San Diego s-Torrey Pines (South Course); par 72, 7,698 yards n-Torrey Pines (North Course); par 72, 7,053 yards 2nd of 34 round Tiger Woods 68s-65n-133 Billy Horschel 66n-69s-135 ARKANSANS Tag Ridings 67s-70n-137 Bryce Molder 68n-72s-140 Scott Gardiner 70n-73s-143 x-David Lingmerth 72s-73n-145 x-John Daly 74s-72n-146 x-Missed cut - Complete scores, Page 3C
Sports, Pages 23 on 01/26/2013