Chalmers & Tway tied for lead

Australian Greg Chalmers and Bob Tway shared the Nissan Open lead at 9-under-par after today's second round, as Tiger Woods had trouble getting putts to fall and was five shots off the pace.

Chalmers, who had seven finishes in the top 25 as a PGA Tour rookie last year, shot a 5-under-par 66 for a 36-hole total of 133 at Riviera Country Club.

Tway, a seven-time winner on the tour whose last victory came in 1995, hit all 18 greens on his way to a 67.

Woods, who took a double bogey on his fourth hole of the day, No. 13, finished with a 1-under 70.

First-round leader J.P. Hayes remained near the top with a 70 to go to 8-under. Club pro Jeff Freeman also was at 134 after a second-round 68.

Woods was four shots off Hayes' lead beginning the day, but quickly dropped two shots to par on the par-4, 421-yard 13th.

He pushed his 9-iron approach shot to the right of the green and into deep grass. He was short on his shot from there, leaving the ball in the fringe, then chipped nine feet past the hole and two-putted for a 6.

The last time Woods had a double bogey or worse was last November, when he took a triple bogey in the final round of the World Golf Championships in Spain.

"The lie was one of those where it could have come out soft like it did, or it could have come out jumpy and hot and gone over to the other side," Woods said of his third shot on No. 13 at Riviera.

"I just tried to play a nice little one up there, somewhere on the green, just trying to make my bogey or maybe get lucky and try and make my putt."

That one hole was not what Woods found most frustrating, however. What did bother him was having several putts lip out.

"I'm just really frustrated with the putts not going in. They're good putts," he said. "You make a good stroke, hit a good putt on the right line at the right speed and it doesn't go in; that's a little disconcerting sometimes."

He said the grass on the putting surfaces at Riviera gets "thatchy and bumpy" late in the day, and "it's a challenge, no doubt about it."

Chalmers liked his trip around Riviera.

"The conditions were perfect all day," said the 26-year-old Chalmers, whose boyhood hero was fellow Australian Greg Norman.

Chalmers, who made five birdie putts of 15 feet or closer and didn't have a bogey, likes the pressure of being at the top of the leaderboard.

"I have been wanting to put myself under pressure. It's something I have to do to get better," he said. "I need to go through the experience."

Tway was pleased with his two rounds so far at Riviera, which he calls one of his favorite courses.

"I have hit the ball nicely, putted nicely," he said. "You always enjoy being up at the lead."

Defending champion Ernie Els had a 71 to fall seven shots behind the leaders. Two-time tournament champion Fred Couples shot a 66 that put him at 138 along with David Duval, who had a 68.

Casey Martin, who has a circulatory disease in his right leg and is allowed to use a cart in tour competition under a court order, shot a second-round 68 and was at 139.

Among those missing the cut, which came at 142 and higher, were John Daly, who shot 72-70; Nick Faldo, who had 76-68; and Mark O'Meara, 72-72.

DIVOTS: Couples tops the money winners for the event, with $761,902 in 17 appearances, but a handful of players could vault over him this year, with a $558,000 winner's share of the $3.1 million purse. ... Riviera was soaked by rain earlier in the week, with the pro-am played in a constant drizzle Wednesday. More rain had been forecast for the rest of the tournament, but it was sunny and warm for the first two rounds, with the forecast changed to no rain until Sunday night. ... Woods had been thinking about playing in the rain over the weekend, saying he wanted to at least stay close enough to the lead to not need "a miracle round to try and catch up" over the weekend.

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