Tiger roars into lead

Tiger Woods has grabbed the lead after the second round of the Byron Nelson Championship in Texas.

The American went to the top of the leaderboard after a three-under-par 67 in windy conditions at Cottonwood Valley – the easier of the two courses used for the event.

Woods posted a halfway total of eight under on 132 for a one-shot advantage over his old friend Mark O’Meara, who shot 66 at Cottonwood.

Sergio Garcia (68) headed a large group two shots off the pace, while Vijay Singh (67) was only three back on a star-studded leaderboard.

Woods was the halfway leader in Charlotte last week before tying for third, ending a streak of 18 consecutive times he had won after holding the 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour.

The world number one has claimed that he is on the verge of hitting top form and there is no doubt he has the ability to contend even when he is not quite firing on all cylinders.

“The things that I’ve been working on are starting to get a little better,” Woods said. “I hit some bad shots today, but I also put myself in position where I had angles, and that’s the whole idea, to leave yourself where you can get up-and-down.

“I think that’s why I’m starting to score a bit better. I would have taken anything under par today.

“With the wind as hard as it was, and as cool as it was, the ball was just not flying. I’ve never seen the wind from that direction before.

“On Tuesday, I hit three-wood, wedge on the first hole. Today, I hit driver, four-iron and didn’t even get there.”

Woods, who had four birdies and one bogey, has a most impressive record at this event – winning once and finishing third twice and has never finished worse than 12th in six appearances as a pro.

Eighty players made the cut, which fell at even-par 140.

The most prominent casualty was Phil Mickelson, whose 72 proved one shot too many.

It was The Masters champion’s first missed cut of the year.