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Singh and Leonard lead field

Shingo Katayama hits out of a trap on the 18th hole during the second round of the 86th PGA Championship at Whistling Straights Golf Course in Kohler, Wisconsin, Friday. PHOTO: EPA

Vijay Singh and Justin Leonard battled for the lead. Tiger Woods fought for survival. From top to bottom, the PGA Championship delivered all kinds of drama Friday at Whistling Straits.

Singh kept his mistakes to a minimum, shooting a 4-under 68 to join Leonard atop the leaderboard.

Still, hardly anyone was paying attention to the Fijian.

He played alongside Woods, who finally delivered some flair in a major championship this year -- even though a Saturday tee time was the only thing at stake.

Two shots over the cut line with six holes to play, Woods fired an 8-iron into 5 feet for birdie, then added two more clutch birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to shoot 69 and keep alive his streak of 129 consecutive PGA Tour events making the cut.

"I gave it everything I've got," Woods said.

Still, that might only be a consolation prize.

The leaderboard was loaded with big names, all of them on top of their games on a Whistling Straits course that again failed to scare them, despite playing all of its 7,514 yards.

Leonard, who must win to have any chance of making the Ryder Cup team, holed a couple of 25-foot birdie putts in a solid round of 69 that put him at 9-under 135 and in the final group Saturday with Singh.

Ernie Els, who could move to No. 1 in the world by finishing second, had control of the tournament with four birdies on his first 10 holes to reach 10 under, but he let it slip away with a couple of wayward drives on the par 5s, making bogey on both of them for a 70.

Darren Clarke was among four players tied for the lead at one point late in the round, despite misunderstanding his caddie and aiming at the wrong television tower of the par-5 11th, leading to a comical journey through some of Whistling Straits' 1,400 bunkers and giving him a double bogey.

He wound up with a 71 and was at 136 along with Els and Briny Baird (69), who is winless in 102 career starts on the PGA Tour. Given the history of this major -- 13 of the last 16 champions had never won a major -- that makes him a prime candidate going into the weekend. And while Woods was lucky to simply stick around, he wasn't counting himself out at even-par 144.

"The leaders didn't go too far away," he said. "Hopefully, I can shoot one of the scores they shot and put myself back in the ball game."

Els holed 25-foot birdie putts on two of the first three holes and was cruising along when his sand wedge from the rough on No. 10 stopped 8 feet away from another birdie.
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