After finishing day one of the U.S. Open in second place, a resurgent Tiger Woods climbed to the top of the leader board Friday.
The former Stanford star finished his second round at 1-under-par -- tied for the overall lead.
Woods, Jim Furyk and David Toms are all at -1 going into Saturday.
Friday was a difficult day for several of the tournament's biggest golfers at the Olympic Club. The majority of the field was even or over par.
Top-ranked Luke Donald and defending champion Rory McIlroy were likely going to miss the cut in what would be swift and stunning exits.
Donald came to the U.S. Open with six wins in the past 18 months, more than any other player. Last year, the 34-year-old Englishman pulled off an unprecedented feat by topping the money lists on both the PGA and European tours.
Now he'll probably miss the weekend for the third time in nine U.S. Open starts.
Donald followed his birdie-free 79 - which even 14-year-old qualifier Andy Zhang matched Thursday - with a less erratic second round. He had five bogeys and three birdies to card a 72, leaving him at an eye-popping 11 under and still without a major.
"That's the one part of my golfing resume in the last few years, especially, that I need to continually address and continually improve," Donald said. "I want to win one more than any of you guys know."
McIlroy's slide might be even more startling.
He mixed five bogeys - including one on his final hole - with a pair of birdies for a second-round 73. The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland shattered U.S. Open records last June at rain-softened Congressional, finishing at 268 to break the 72-hole record by four shots, and his 16-under total was four better than Woods' mark at Pebble Beach in 2000.
What a pushover that course turned out to be.
Olympic Club has restored "golf's toughest test" and then some.
The tight, twisting fairways on the unleveled Lake Course had most of the field hacking out of rough and digging into sand for shots. Others searched for balls in the colossal cypress trees or pushed putts all over the rock-hard greens. Phil Mickelson did all three in his first round.
Sergio Garcia, who reached the green in two on the 11th, was so upset when he missed a 5-foot putt to make bogey that he took a half-swing at the ball and yelled a couple of cuss words.
The two accomplished left-handers in Woods' group, Mickelson and Masters champion Bubba Watson also faced the prospect of missing the cut entering the second round. Mickelson opened with a 76, and Watson shot 78.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
