Toms & Riley share 36 hole lead

One hit fairway after fairway after fairway. The other rolled in putts like there was no tomorrow.

David Toms and Chris Riley may have been polar opposites in the way they played Friday, but the end result was the same.

The two share the lead at the midway point of the World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational. The playing partners shot 67s at Firestone Country Club that left them tied for the lead at 7 under.

The disparities don't end with fairways and greens, either.

Toms is bidding for a third win in 2003 that would make him a viable candidate for PGA Tour Player of the Year. Riley, who won the Reno-Tahoe Open a year ago this week, is a wide-eyed 29-year-old who has reveled in the tradition around the clubhouse while making some history of his own on the course

"I was really looking forward to defending at Reno," Riley said. "But to be able to come here and play against the best players in the world, it's where you want to be and what you want to do."

Some of the very best are giving chase, too. Five players who rank in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking lurk within four strokes of the shared lead.

The South Course was generous early on, yielding a 62, which was one shot off the record, to Fred Funk before the last 10 groups had even teed off. He'll start the day at 6 under, tied with Vijay Singh, in the penultimate group of the day.

Perhaps the player most concerned with his starting time, though, was Ben Curtis, who started the second round tied for the lead with Sergio Garcia. The Ohio native is getting married on Saturday and another late tee time would have forced a delay in the "I dos."

Curtis struggled from the start Friday, though, making double bogey on the first hole en route to a 76. His 11:40 a.m. ET date with Lee Westwood on Saturday makes it much more likely the 6 p.m. wedding will start on time.

As Curtis found out all too well, the winds picked up as the day progressed and Firestone wasn't quite as generous as it had been to Funk. Toms estimated it was a "club-and-a-half" wind, and four of the last six holes played over par, including the monstrous par-5 16th that he said "had to be playing well over 700 yards."

Tiger Woods was among the victims, making bogeys on Nos. 13 and 16, then a double on the 18th. The No. 1 player in the world drove it way left on the final hole, chipped through the fairway, hit his third shot short of the green, chipped on and two-putted from 32 feet, 9 inches for the 6.

Woods has won the three previous NEC Invitationals played at Firestone Country Club, posting a 67.5 scoring average. But he starts the weekend with some ground to make up at 3-under par, tied with Peter Jacobsen, Dan Forsman, Jonathan Kaye, Hal Sutton and Ernie Els.

"It got tough out there as the afternoon went on," Woods said. "The winds picked up and were swirling. Late in the day the golf course got fast as it dried out.

"I am happy with how I'm playing. The conditions got tougher late in the day and that showed over the last four holes. I'm looking forward to the weekend."

Riley struggled with his driver, hitting just five fairways, and was erratic on his approach shots, reaching only half the greens in regulation. But he salvaged his round with a hot putter, needing just 24 on Friday, and he has not made a bogey all week.

"It doesn't surprise me," Toms said. "He's day-in and day-out one of the best putters on the Tour. He has great speed with his putter. These greens have a good but of slope to them and can get pretty quick and he is in total control.

"Even though he had a few wayward drives, he was able to save it. It doesn't surprise me. He's got the kind of short game where he can go for a while and not make a bogey. He can recover after bad shots."

Riley said that when he was a kid, he used to go to the course to practice his putting - not hit balls.

"I always knew I was going to be a great putter, but my ball striking is something different," he said. "It needs some help."

Toms, on the other hand, is hitting on all cylinders this week. He hit 13 of 18 greens and 11 of 14 fairways on Friday. Two more steady performances with his driver, and the 2001 PGA champion might have his first World Golf Championships victory.

"It's a great golf Tournament against a great field on a great course," said Toms, who was the runnerup to Woods at the Accenture Match Play Championship in February.

"As far as this week and being in good position, I'm just excited about driving the ball better. That has been my weakness the last couple of months, and it makes me excited to go out and play tomorrow. (I) feel good about my chances on the weekend if I can continue to do that."

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