Saved for one missed short putt, it’s been a strong start for Tiger Woods in the second round of the 2013 British Open Championship. Tiger is making his second tour through the front nine at Muirfield, trying to make an early charge to the top of the leaderboard on a course that should be setup easier than the one he battled on Thursday. The wind is picking up off the Scottish coast of Gullane, but Tiger still has a great opportunity to charge to the lead before most Americans are even up to start their day and 1st-round leader Zach Johnson has even started his second 18.
British Open leaderboard: Tiger Woods making early 2nd round move at Muirfield
The No. 1 player in the world is in steady form at the start of Friday’s second round, and could have the lead shortly if his spot-on approach shots continue.
Tiger opened the second round in much smoother fashion than his wild drive to open the week on Thursday, when he put it in the fescue about 40 yards right and had to take a drop. Woods has striped his irons so far, and has been solid tee-to-green, including a nice clean par on No. 1 as opposed to the ugliness there yesterday.
Tiger has been fantastic on approach through his first five holes, dropping his ball on the correct side of the pins and putting himself in position for birdies and easier pars. At No. 3, he perfectly stuck his approach on the left side of the cup for an easy birdie putt, which he converted. But he promptly gave the shot back at the next with an awful three-putt. Woods left his ball on the front of the green at the par-3, and was taken to school by playing partner Graeme McDowell who had almost an identical putt and went first. Tiger, however, still left his attempt short of the cup and then missed an easy bunny to drop back to 2-under. The unexpected three-jack left Tiger muttering to himself, but he walked off to the par-5 fifth hole with another opportunity to get back into the red.
And Tiger did not mess around, getting on the front of the green in two for an eagle chance. He nearly sank it, with the eagle putt burning the left edge of the cup and setting up a tap-in birdie to move back to 3-under for the championship and 1-under on the day.
Overall, it’s been an impressive start for Woods, who’s been steady in all areas save for the missed bunny putt at No. 4. If this form holds, the only move he’ll make is up the leaderboard and could have the lead by the time he makes the turn.
Alongside Woos is Englishman Lee Westwood, who is now 4-under on the day and 3-under for the championship. Westwood has the low-round out on the course and has gotten hot with the putter, the club that’s historically prevented him from converting a major championship. Here’s a snapshot of the leaderboard around Westwood and Woods:
| Player | Score | Thru |
| Zach Johnson | -5 | 10:07 a.m. |
| Rafael Cabrera-Bello | -4 | 7:50 a.m. |
| Lee Westwood | -3 | 8 |
| Tiger Woods | -3 | 5 |
| Jordan Spieth | -3 | 12 |
| Miguel A. Jimenez | -3 | 7:39 a.m. |
| Dustin Johnson | -3 | 8:45 a.m. |
| Brandt Snedeker | -3 | 9:12 a.m. |
| Henrik Stenson | -2 | 9 |
| Shiv Kapur | -2 | 1 |
| Francesco Molinari | -2 | 2 |
| Phil Mickelson | -2 | 9:45 a.m. |
| Tom Lehman | -1 | 14 |
| Ryan Moore | -1 | 9 |
| Mark O'Meara | 1 | 16 |
| Adam Scott | 2 | 7 |
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