Tiger Woods lurks three off the pace

Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh may have broken the 36-hole scoring record for the U.S. Open to make the final group for today's third round, but circling and waiting is the defending champion.

"Jim and Vijay are playing great," said Rocco Mediate of his fellow Ponte Vedra Beach professionals. "But don't forget about that other guy. Old what's his name."

It was Mediate's way of reminding the media "what's his name" is always in the hunt if he's in the field. And Tiger Woods shot his best Open round since he opened with a 65 in 2000 at Pebble Beach, getting himself squarely into the fray for the weekend at 4-under-par 136 at the Olympia Fields Golf Club, three shots behind Furyk and Singh.

Woods came off an underwhelming even-par round of 70 Thursday with a much better performance yesterday. Compared to the first round, he hit three more fairways (nine) and required eight fewer putts (25) to work his way into a tie for fifth with four other players.

Woods gambled a bit more, after admitting the day before that he backed off going at some pins. And at the par-5 sixth hole, Woods took a 3-wood out of the right rough and hit a low running cut that bounded onto the green -- from 287 yards out.

"It's those kind of shots that make you appreciate just what he can do out there," said Ricky Barnes, the defending U.S. Amateur champion who played his fourth round of the year in a major with Woods. "I turned to my brother [and caddie, Andy Barnes] and told him that was amazing."

Woods said the key to his round was finding the fairway more often, and he did it by leaving his driver in the bag, using it only twice.

"It's a little bit easier to score when you're in the fairway," he said. "Today, I drove the ball pretty good and gave myself some chances. I was more comfortable with my swing, so I shaded the ball maybe a yard or two more toward the flag. I needed to get the ball in play. From there, you can make a decision if you want to be more aggressive."

Woods began the day by making a 15-foot birdie putt at the par-5 first hole, after missing the fairway and knocking his second shot into a bunker. He then made a bomb of putt at the par-3 fourth, from 50 feet away, got a two-putt birdie at No. 6, and drilled a 6-iron to within 2 feet at No. 9.

He recovered from a bogey at No. 11 to make short birdie putts at Nos. 13 and 16.

Woods said his game plan for the weekend didn't involve chasing one player or one score.

"Just get something in the red," he said, referring to the traditional number for under-par scores. "That's all you have to do, just keep yourself in the red and keep moving up. It's always tougher to move up on the weekend."