Woods ready to bounce back
Friday's second round of the British Open tees off with 22 players starting better placed than Tiger Woods but the grand slam-chasing American's shadow hangs over them all.
Woods fired a first round 70 in perfect conditions on Thursday but failed to convert seven gilt-edged birdie chances to improve on that.
All his rivals know, however, that the world number one, who has already bagged the U.S. Masters and U.S. Open this year and is chasing an unprecedented haul of all four majors, will have toiled long and hard after his round to cure his putting flaws.
He is unlikely to be so generous a second time.
With the wind expected to pick up on Friday, Woods has the power and shot-making skills to fare better than most on a tight course ringed by waist-high rough.
Two Americans, Duffy Waldorf and the U.S. PGA champion David Toms, head the 156-strong field on four under par alongside a North Carolina-based Swede, Carl Petterson.
The 24-year-old Pettersson briefly held the outright lead at five under with one hole to play on Thursday evening but he slipped back into a three-way tie when he pulled his tee shot at the 18th into the left rough and ran up a bogey-five.
CHIEF COMPETITION
Woods's chief competition, though, could come from his playing partners, England's Justin Rose and Shigeki Maruyama of Japan who outscored him by two on Thursday with a pair of 68s.
That left them tied for fourth in a group of 12 that included world number two Phil Mickelson, former champions Nick Price and Sandy Lyle, 1996 U.S. Open winner Steve Jones and Denmark's Thomas Bjorn.
South Africa's Ernie Els is also ideally placed on 70 alongside Woods while twice-British Open champion Greg Norman and Spaniard Sergio Garcia are a shot further adrift after level par rounds of 71.
Mark O'Meara, the 1998 winner at Royal Birkdale, carded a 69, 1999 title-holder Paul Lawrie opened with a 70 and defending champion David Duval was happy enough after a 72.
But Tom Watson, who lifted the Claret Jug five times between 1975 and 1983, crashed to a six-over-par 77.
Nick Faldo, who won the last two Opens at Muirfield, also faces a battle to beat the halfway cut after an opening 73 while Scotland's big hope Colin Montgomerie slumped to a 74.
Woods's group are scheduled to begin their second round at 1357 local time (1257 GMT).
