Waite leads as Tiger closes in

Grant Waite and Greg Chalmers hope they are more than just a warm-up act in the Canadian Open.

Waite, coming off a runner-up finish in Vancouver last week, eagled the 18th hole today for an 8-under 64 and a one-stroke lead over Chalmers. But lurking behind was the cast of characters everyone came to see, including the biggest name in golf.

Tiger Woods thrilled a sold-out crowd at Glen Abbey with a birdie-eagle-birdie-eagle blitz, capped off by a 380-yard drive and a sand wedge into the par-5 18th, which thrust him into contention for yet another national title.

"I'm inspired by what he's done,'' said Waite, who was at 11-under 133. "He's an incredible man who plays golf unlike anyone in the universe. But the very essence of the game is to execute the shots in front of you.''

There are plenty of those ahead over the weekend.

Chalmers, who has birdied all the par 5s over the first two days, had a 65 in the soft, still conditions of the afternoon. Another stroke behind was Brian Watts, a Canadian by birth who honed his game in Texas and earned his fame in a British Open playoff loss to Mark O'Meara two years ago.

The headliners follow - 20-year-old Spanish star Sergio Garcia was at 136 after birdies on the last three holes gave him a 69.

Woods, who thought he teed off an hour later than he did and had to rush out to the range and onto the course, had a 65 and was four strokes back at 137, along with 13-time winner Davis Love III.

"He's the No. 1 player in the world and we all want to beat him,'' said Love, who has failed in four head-to-head battles and will be paired with Woods on Saturday.

All of them will have to catch Waite, the 36-year-old New Zealander whose only PGA Tour victory came in 1993.

He saved his round on the par-5 fifth hole, leaving his second shot in the rough, and taking five strokes to reach the green. But he holed an 8-footer for a bogey, a lousy score for such an easy hole, but a momentum boost nevertheless.

Waite caught another break on the 18th when his drive hit the bunker but skipped out, leaving him a hard 7-iron over the water into 15 feet for eagle, and a lead going into the weekend.

Waite picked up some confidence with his second-place finish in Vancouver. For Chalmers, it has been a year of believing his time is coming soon. He already secured his card with a runner-up finish in the Kemper Open, and earned a spot in The Masters by tying for fourth in the PGA Championship.

"I've been looking for an opportunity like this,'' he said. "The nerves are lessened the better you're playing. I know a little bit about where the ball is going, which helps.''

But Chalmers couldn't help but notice who was behind him.

"The less I think about it, the better off I'll be,'' he said.

It's hard not to notice Woods, especially the way he burst out of the doldrums and into the thick of the tournament. Once he figured out when he was supposed to tee off -- 7:57 a.m., not 8:57 a.m. -- and once he hit a pure shot on the par-3 15th, Woods was off and running.

Woods handled the last two par 5s on the back nine with ease, the way most players treat a short par 4. He hit 9-iron into 3 feet for eagle on the 16th, and his drive on No. 18 went so far that he had only a 60-degree sand wedge left.

"I'm starting to play a little bit better now,'' Woods said.

Waite said everyone on tour can learn lessons from Woods - how to block out distractions, have full faith in their games and let their talent flow freely.

"We all can't learn how to hit 380 on the last hole and have a sand wedge in there,'' he said. "What we see on the golf course is a man at full flight with nothing stopping him.''

Not even fatigue seems to be getting in the way. Woods has had one of the greatest summers of golf in history, three straight major championships and scoring records in all of them. Just two weeks ago, he won the NEC Invitational at Firestone by 11 strokes.

Garcia was trying to straighten out his round when he suddenly saw Woods' name appear on the leaderboard.

"Once you see Tiger on the scoreboard, it's a little different,'' he said. "You might see some other players but you think, 'Well, he might drop.' But once you see Tiger on the leaderboard, you know that you can't make any mistakes because he doesn't make many mistakes.''

DIVOTS: Woods has 37 consecutive rounds at par or better, 33 on the PGA Tour. He also had four straight rounds under par in Germany. ... Mike Weir is treated in Canada the way Woods is almost everywhere else. The favorite Maple Leaf finally gave the hometown crowd something to cheer Friday with a 69 to finish at 143. Playing in his 10th Canadian Open, he made the cut for the first time, and had his first round in the 60s. ... David Morland of Canada made a hole-in-one on No. 7, but still missed the cut by one shot. Also missing the cut was O'Meara, who finished bogey-bogey.

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