Els leads after rain delay

Even after finishing with an 85 in what might be his final appearance on the PGA Tour, Arnold Palmer found reason to smile.

Palmer glanced over his shoulder at the large leaderboard behind the 18th green at the Bay Hill Invitational. Ernie Els was in the lead after a 7-under 65. Tiger Woods was one stroke behind and still on the course in the rain-delayed second round Friday.

"It's turning into the script that I'd like to see," said Palmer, the tournament host.

The script didn't include a five-hour rain delay that softened the brick-hard greens at Bay Hill, or the commotion outside the clubhouse when Woods' girlfriend collapsed from food poisoning and dehydration.

Still, the King couldn't argue with how the Bay Hill Invitational was shaping up as a potential showdown between the world's top two golfers.

Els birdied his first four holes, then finished strong after the rain delay to take the lead among those who completed the second round. He was at 5-under 139 and had a one-stroke lead.

Woods birdied four of the seven holes he played before darkness set in, and he was at 4 under par. Aaron Baddeley, the 22-year-old Aussie, was at 6 under and among the 61 players still on the course when the second round was suspended.

They will return at 7 a.m. Saturday.

"We knew we weren't going to finish today," Woods said. "You try to make the most of it. I made a couple of mistakes but still ended up under par for the day. I'm very pleased."

Fortunate to open with a 74, Els had every reason to believe this wasn't his week. Instead, it looks as if this might be his year.

"If I get better to the level I want to play at, I'm going to play a lot with Tiger, because he's on that level," Els said. "We've played together for the last six or seven years. He's definitely gotten better. And I've had my moments."

Friday was one of them.

With the greens still firm Friday morning, he opened his round by rolling in a 50-foot birdie putt across the 10th green, lightly pumping his fist with a smile that indicated he knew this might be a good day.

Els followed with three birdie putts inside 10 feet, then saved his round with his worst shot of the week, a drive that landed in the trees near some exposed roots.

His next shot rattled through the limbs and dropped 30 feet in front of him, bringing a big number into the picture. Instead, Els fired a 4-iron just through the green and chipped delicately to within inches to save par.

"I played that hole like you," he said to a small group of reporters.

The rain started coming hard about 11 a.m. and didn't let up for nearly four hours, leaving small pools in the fairways and bunkers and softening the greens.

Els returned by making two more birdies, including a 20-footer that curled into the cup on No. 7 and put him in the lead.

Still, not everything is going Els' way. "We've got the tough end of the draw," he said.

Among those who finished was Jack Nicklaus, who bogeyed his final two holes for a 76 to miss the cut at 14-over 158. He said he will play Augusta National in the next two weeks before deciding whether to compete in the Masters for the 44th time.

Woods and others who played Thursday morning got Bay Hill at its most benign. They will return to play the bulk of the second round in the easiest conditions yet.

Approach shots that bounced high and hard off the greens began to stick and spin on the soggy putting surfaces, and the slower fairways turned Bay Hill into a paradise for the big hitters.

That's one reason Woods has won three straight times and figures to be in position to become the first player in more than 70 years to win the same event four straight years.

Woods missed two 5-foot par putts in his seven holes, but he atoned for that with easy birdies on the two par 5s (Nos. 12 and 16).

His only scare came during the rain delay.

Elin Nordegren, the Swedish model and Woods' girlfriend the last two years, collapsed outside the clubhouse from food poisoning and dehydration that weakened her. Woods accompanied her to the hospital but later said she would be fine.

"With food poisoning, and then walking 18 holes yesterday and getting dehydrated, it was hard for her to keep anything down," Woods said. "I told her she should just stay home today, but she's stubborn."

Els is just as headstrong. His latest lesson is to stop worrying about everyone else and to adopt Woods' strategy: Don't pay attention to anyone on the leaderboard until the back nine on Sunday.

"That's the perfect formula, isn't it?" Els said. "If you look at his record ... if that's what he says, that's probably the way to go. I truly believe that it's you and the golf course. If you're good enough on the day, you'll win.

"Tiger just puts himself in that position, and he has proved that."

Divots: The third round will be televised by CNBC (3 p.m. to 6 p.m. EST) if NBC News pre-empts sports programming Saturday with coverage of the war. ... Frank Lickliter took a triple bogey on No. 15 when his approach from the rough struck a tree and went out of bounds. He shot 40 on his front nine, then withdrew after the rain delay. ... Trevor Immelman was at 4 under and leading the tournament until hitting two balls in the water on No. 18, his ninth hole, and taking a quadruple-bogey 8.

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