Tiger finds game, and roars follow

It was a frustrating, wheel-spinning first nine for Tiger Woods on Friday at Augusta National Golf Club.

Bogey, birdie, bogey to start, then a stuffed tee shot at No. 6 and a short birdie putt, followed by a three-putt bogey at No. 7.

That put Woods at even par for the Masters Tournament, with the cut line looming at 1-over. His record was skipping, and he needed something to jostle the needle.

"All I wanted to do was get to under par for the tournament," he said.

Woods did much more than that. Beginning with a relatively modest two-putt birdie at the par-5 eighth hole, it quickly turned into vintage Tiger at Augusta.

Woods birdied the 18th on a 12-foot putt -- after pounding a high, fading 8-iron out of the right rough near the trees -- and finished with 66, matching his low round of the year and tying K.J. Choi for third at 7-under 137, three shots behind leader Rory McIlroy.

Woods had two runs of three birdies in a row and played his last 11 holes at 7-under. He jumped 21 spots from a tie for 24th after the first round and has posted his lowest 36-hole score in the Masters since he shot 8-under in 2001, the year he won his second green jacket. He had his lowest score at Augusta since a third-round 65 in 2005, which was the last of his four Masters wins.

Anyone detect a trend?

"We've still got a long way to go," said Woods in one of the many cliches he held firm to during his post-round interview session. "I played my way back into the tournament. It's going to be fun."

It already was fun for patrons who gave Woods thunderous ovations with every precise shot and holed putt. When Woods was asked whether the galleries' reactions were a factor, he replied, "Absolutely."

Beginning with a workmanlike two-putt birdie off the front fringe at the par-5 eighth hole, Woods birdied three holes in a row, made two pars, then birdied three more in a row to storm into the top 10.

His sprint up the leaderboard was a contrast to his sloppy start in which he bogeyed the first hole, then did the same at No. 3 when he inexplicably hit driver off the tee and left himself with a delicate 30-yard shot that he tried to lob to a hole cut in the front. The ball never reached the putting surface, falling short and back down the hill. Woods pulled his second shot into the seventh green and three-putted from 30 feet.

From then on, his round was a work of art.

There was his sand wedge to within 12 feet at No. 9 to set up a birdie putt, then an 8-iron that scared the hole at No. 10, rolling six feet away before he made that putt for a birdie.

Woods punched out of the right trees at No. 11 and had to make a tricky six-foot par putt that he said might have been as much of a turning point in his day as any one hole.

Two-putts off the fringe for birdie at the par-5 13th and 15th were wrapped around a birdie at No. 14 from 18 inches. Woods missed a 6-footer for birdie at No. 16 but made up for it at the last hole.

He had to hit a shot to the left to avoid a tree branch and was praying it would cut enough to reach the green. The ball landed 12 feet away, and Woods made the putt, punctuating it with a rather tame but noticeable fist pump.

"How patient I was was the key to the round," he said. "I made a couple of mistakes early, but 66 in a major championship is always going to be good. I'm very pleased."

Reach Garry Smits at (904) 359-4362.