Singh & Leonard lead at halfway

Vijay Singh and Justin Leonard were locked in a tie for the U.S. PGA Championship second-round lead on Friday as Tiger Woods made the halfway cut after a tense battle.

Fijian Singh, the 1998 champion at Sahalee, fired a four-under-par 68 and American Leonard a 69, the pair finishing another relatively calm day at Whistling Straits on nine-under 135.

"I feel like my game is coming around because my putting is improved," said the 41-year-old Singh, who switched back to a conventional blade from a belly putter two weeks ago.

"I've been in position to win majors a lot of times since my (U.S.) Masters win in 2000 but I just have not finished the job yet," he told reporters.

"Not because I wasn't playing well but I think my putting was a big factor. This is another good opportunity right here."

Leonard, the 1997 British Open champion, moved into contention for a second major title with a mix of five birdies and two bogeys, and by playing percentage golf.

"It was a good day, and I stayed out of trouble for the most part," said the 32-year-old Texan.

"I'm just glad to shoot a couple of good rounds and be in a good position going into the weekend."

Three-times major winner Ernie Els, who had led by two with eight holes remaining, was a further stroke back in a tie for third place at eight under after carding a 70.

Level with the smooth-swinging South African were first-round pacesetter Darren Clarke of Britain (71) and little-known American Briny Baird (69).

Baird, yet to win on the PGA Tour, mixed five birdies with two bogeys to hold the early lead after making the most of more favourable conditions in the morning.

"It was a little harder today and I got some really good breaks," said Baird, who fired a first-round 67 on a Straits Course shortened to 7,369 yards because of predicted strong winds that never materialised.

For round two, the daunting par-72 layout was back to its full 7,514 yards and provided a stiffer test for the 154-strong field.

World number one Woods, who opened with a three-over-par 75, birdied three of the last six holes for a 69 to finish at level-par 144.

Although he made a fast start in his bid to avoid missing the cut for the first time in a major as a professional, he flirted with the cut line for much of the afternoon before his strong finish.

Woods has not missed the 36-hole cut in a tournament since the 1997 Canadian Open, 128 events ago.

"I had to somehow just grind it out and be patient and hopefully things would come around, and they did," said Woods after the cut was made at one-over 145 with 73 players advancing to the third round.

"I started hitting the ball better on the back nine and made a few putts."

Out in level-par 36, Woods did well to salvage par on 10 and 11 before rallying at the par-four 13th where he holed a seven-foot birdie putt to get back to two over.

Another birdie followed at the par-five 16th where he reached the green in two. He then rolled in a curling 15-footer for birdie at the par-three 17th to make certain of progressing to the third round.

"I'm very proud of it," Woods said of his run of 129 consecutive cuts. "Not too many people have been able to play as consistent as I have for a longer period of time."

World number five Davis Love III, the 1997 U.S. PGA champion, headed a list of several big names who missed the cut.

Among those failing to qualify were Spaniards Sergio Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal, 2003 U.S. Masters winner Mike Weir and former U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk.

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