Woods in control

Holder Tiger Woods turned on the style to take command of the American Express World Championship in Atlanta today – while Darren Clarke was in danger of his worst-ever score as a professional.

Woods produced a breath-taking outward half of 31, four under, to go from two behind Sergio Garcia to four clear of everybody. But Clarke played his first 11 holes in a horror 12 over par.

The Ulsterman, joint eighth after his opening 69 and winner of the last World Golf Championships event in Akron in August, managed just one par in that stretch.

The remainder were nine bogeys and a triple-bogey six on the 191-yard sixth, where his first tee shot failed to make the carry over a ravine and his second finished in sand.

Clarke turned in a nightmare 45 shots and when he bogeyed the 10th and 11th as well he was down to joint 60th of the 72 players, at 11 over.

It was handing the European Order of Merit title to Ernie Els on a plate. The South African is already more than £500,000 clear and at four over with two holes of his second round to go had a chance to clinch the crown this weekend.

Clarke’s worst round as a professional is his 83 in the 2000 US Open at a windswept Pebble Beach.

After parring the long 12th, he needed to play the remaining six in level par to beat that.

With a one-under 69 the best score in the clubhouse – Justin Rose achieved that after nearly pulling out at the start with a stiff neck – Woods’ front nine staggered belief.

He pitched from the rough to three feet on the second – and after bogeying the next birdied the fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth to be bang on course for an incredible eighth world title in 15 attempts.

The world number one has already earned almost nine million dollars from a series introduced only in 1999, and a first prize of 1,050,000 US dollars is on offer on Sunday.

Garcia, round in a superb 65 yesterday, struggled on his return – just as he did after beginning the NEC Invitational with a 64 in Akron two months ago.

The 23-year-old, undergoing swing changes this season, did birdie the third - but then came a six on the long fourth and a hat-trick of bogeys from the sixth for an outward 38.

He was down to joint third along with his compatriot Ignacio Garrido and American Tim Herron on two under, South Korean KJ Choi being second one ahead of them.

Rose woke up with a recurrence of his neck problem and 10 minutes before tee-off did not think he would start his second round.

“I felt terrible but decided to give it a couple of holes,” he said.

Remarkably, he birdied them both with putts of 30 and 10 feet.

Rose’s day did not continue quite so magically. But a 69 on the demanding Capital City Club Crabapple course, made all the harder by a cold swirling wind, enabled him to make a sizeable move through the field.

At four over par he was alongside World Cup team-mate Paul Casey (71), while Lee Westwood was one better than that after matching Casey’s round.

Rose developed the neck problem at Atlanta Airport on Monday.

“I was running up an escalator and felt it go,” he said.

“I’ve had treatment all week, and it was getting better and better – until this morning.

“On the range I had no yardage and no timing – but I played really, really well.”

Welshman Phillip Price, level par overnight, triple-bogeyed the second – twice chipping off the green – and was down to six over after 12.

Padraig Harrington was four over with one to play; Brian Davis six over, Ian Poulter seven over, Alastair Forsyth eight over, Colin Montgomerie and David Howell nine over after 75s and Mark Foster 13 over.