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Stricker leads, Duval rises, Woods out

David Duval lines up a putt on the 10th hole during the second round of the US Open Championship in Mamaroneck, New York, on Friday. Duval finished with a 68, joining Arron Oberholser for the best score at Winged Foot Golf Club this week. PHOTO: AFP

Steve Stricker grabbed the lead, David Duval became a contender, and Tiger Woods went home early on a Friday full of surprises at the US Open.

Woods returned from his longest layoff by making his earliest departure at a major, missing the cut in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time as a pro and leaving this US Open in the hands of an eclectic mix of players who include Phil Mickelson, his biggest rival.

"I don't care if you had what transpired in my life of recent or not," said Woods, playing for the first time since his father died and posting rounds of 76-76 to miss by three shots. "Poor execution is never going to feel very good."

About the only thing that feels good at Winged Foot is getting off the course with limited damage.

Stricker was stumbling with consecutive bogeys from the bunker, and another one loomed when he pulled his 9-iron into the sand left of the ninth green. Hoping to get it close, he sank the shot for an unlikely birdie and a 1-under 69 that left him the only player under par going into the weekend at 139.

One stroke behind was Colin Montgomerie, who was steady off the tee and on his scorecard.

Match Play champion Geoff Ogilvy and Kenneth Ferrie each had even-par 70 to finish at 141, and Ferrie showed how quickly this course, with its deep rough and undulating greens, can wipe out a good day. He reached 3 under par for the tournament until double bogeys on the 14th and 15th holes.

For all the thrills and mostly spills, two players considered favorites at this championship were looming not far from the lead.

One of them was Jim Furyk, the 2003 winner at Olympia Fields. He ran off nine straight pars before hitting a few bumps coming in, but still managed a 72 and was at 212, along with Padraig Harrington (69).

The other was Mickelson, who celebrated his 36th birthday on Friday, as if the fans needed more reason to cheer.

The Masters champion, trying to join Woods as the only players in the last 50 years to win three straight majors, opened with consecutive bogeys and appeared headed down the leaderboard like so many others. But he limited his mistakes, including an up-and-down on his final hole to escape with bogey. Mickelson wound up with a 73, and at 3-over 213 was four shots behind.

"Bogeys are OK," Mickelson said, rare words from a guy who thrives on birdies. "I'm within four shots with two rounds to go. I'm where I wanted to be. All I wanted is a chance."

The biggest shock -- to everyone but Duval -- was that the former British Open champion has a chance. He opened with a 77, and most figured he would be gone by the weekend for the 12th straight time in a major. Instead, Duval went 14 holes without a bogey, rang up four birdies along the way and, except for a double bogey from the rough on No. 6, looked like he was in the title hunt. He wound up with a 68, joining Arron Oberholser for the best score at Winged Foot this week.

"You see the scores when you get done and you don't know what happened," Duval said of his recent play. "It's those little things that need to add up in a round of golf that haven't for me.''

Stricker hasn't been atop the leaderboard in a major since the third round of the 1998 US PGA Championship, where he finished second to Vijay Singh. He hasn't contended in a major since the 1999 US Open, and his game has fallen so far that he hasn't even kept his full US PGA Tour card for the last two years.

But he made it through sectional qualifying last week, and he's making the most of the opportunity.

"I feel tons more pressure when I'm trying to make a cut," he said.

He holed out a bunker shot for birdie at No. 2, but the bunker shot with larger ramifications came at the 514-yard ninth, his last hole. Stricker was kicking himself as he walked toward the green, knowing he had let a good round slip away. His perspective changed when the ball took one hop and disappeared into the cup.

"I was just trying to make sure I got it on the green," he said. "It just came off perfect."

The cut at the US Open is the top 60 and ties, and anyone within 10 shots of the lead. Stricker's birdie knocked out nine players who finished at 10-over, including US Senior Open champion Allen Doyle and Andrew Svoboda, who grew up at Winged Foot.

Meanwhile, instead of being on the cut line, 10 over par for the championship, Woods was suddenly one over the cut. Not that it mattered, as it turned out. He spent too much time in the rough, under the trees, even playing one shot from a bunker on the adjacent East Course.
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