Field closes in on Baird

Tiger Woods needed two days and 36 holes to put together one solid round on the soggy Westchester Country Club course.

Failing again to build on a strong opening nine holes, the eight-time major champion shot 2-under-par 69 Friday in the Buick Classic, leaving him four strokes behind second-round leader Briny Baird.

Woods, playing the back nine first in his morning round, birdied four of the first nine holes to reach 8 under, but he dropped back with three bogeys and a birdie on the front nine. In the first round, he was 5 under after 10 holes but settled for a 67.

"To have it going like that and to give it all away with poor putting, that's a little frustrating," Woods said. "I've played nine holes well each day. I just need to keep it going longer than that."

Winless since taking three of his first four events this year following knee surgery, Woods tied for 20th last week in the U.S. Open, closing with rounds of 75 and 72 to finish 11 strokes behind winner Jim Furyk.

"I'm starting to get more into the rhythm," Woods said. "The things I've been working on are starting to come together. It's just a matter of getting up there and just trusting everything."

Baird followed a career-best 63 with an erratic 69 to top the field at 10 under, a stroke ahead of Retief Goosen (66). Skip Kendall (66) was two strokes back, while Joey Sindelar (69) followed at 7 under. Brad Faxon (67), J.L. Lewis (68), Jonathan Kaye (66) and Shigeki Maruyama (69) joined Woods at 6 under.

Baird, winless in four seasons on the PGA Tour, had seven birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey. He birdied the first two holes to get to 10 under, but immediately gave the strokes back with the double-bogey on No. 3.

"I wasn't as upset as you might think," said Baird, the son of Champions Tour player Butch Baird. "I'm thinking, 'All right, it's the equivalent of going par, par, par.' You play mind games with yourself out there sometimes."

While the rain held off for the second straight day, the soft conditions on the undulating greens made it difficult for players to get close to the hole -- with many shots hitting behind the pins and spinning well past the hole.

"The spinning is a huge factor," Baird said. "It's hard to get the ball close on some of these pins. They are 2 or 3 yards on top of these ridges, and the ball is spinning so much that you can't throw it far enough behind it."

Players again were allowed to lift, clean and place in the fairways, which were saturated by 71/2 inches of rain in the last three weeks.

"The course can't take much more water," Goosen said. "They can't cut the rough, so it's just getting thicker."

Goosen, the 2001 U.S. Open champion, eagled the par-5 ninth and added four birdies on the back nine.

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