Tiger Woods lurking after shooting 71

With a blustery afternoon at the Masters weeding out the field and keeping anyone from going too low, Woods didn't make his typical second-round surge.

He didn't have to.

"I played pretty good today," he said after a 1-under 71 Friday left him within striking distance of leader Chad Campbell. "The guys who went off early probably played in the wind maybe half the round, maybe more, maybe less.

"But, hey, that's just the way it is. Tomorrow, we're all out there about the same time, and you've got to go out there and play."

Woods is only the third player to win the Masters four times, tying him with Arnold Palmer and leaving him two behind Jack Nicklaus. The defending champion, he's a 2-to-1 favorite to make it five green jackets.

You may have to look a bit to find him on the leaderboard, but don't count him out. He's tied for 10th going into Saturday's third round, five strokes behind Campbell.

"I'm in contention, so it is a good spot," he said. "I'm only five back. And with the forecast, if it's unpredictable as it's been all week, we'll see how it is tomorrow."

Golf's traditional moving day is Saturday, but the 30-year-old Woods has always been a little precocious. He tends to make his jump in the second round, then follow it with another move in the third.

-- When he won his first title in 1997, a 66 on the second day took him from fourth to first, a spot he kept the final two days.

-- In 2001, when he won his second green jacket, he jumped from 15th to second with a second-round 66. He took the lead after a 68 in the third round.

-- In 2002, a 69 in the second round moved him from seventh to fourth. He took the lead with a third-round 66.

-- Last year, a 66 vaulted him from 33rd place all the way into third. A third-round 65 gave him the lead.

This year, though, a few errant putts and the whirling, swirling afternoon gusts that played tricks on Augusta National forced him to stay put. His 71 was one shot better than his first-round score, but he remained five strokes off the lead.

Vijay Singh gave three strokes back from his first-round lead with three double bogeys, while Phil Mickelson finished exactly where he started.

"It was windy, swirly, and it just played very difficult," Woods said. "I mean, a good shot can end up in a bad spot and you just have to accept the consequences and move on. It was very difficult."

Not that he didn't have chances.

He had a bogey on the par-3 fourth after a gust of wind got hold of his tee shot and deposited it in a bunker. He made another on 11 after the breeze grabbed the ball and pushed it off the green.

He missed a birdie on the par-3 16th when his 7-footer burned the left edge of the cup and kept right on going. As the crowd groaned, Woods laughed in disbelief. After tapping in, he stood on the green, scratching his head.

He missed another close one on 18, from about 8 feet. He swung at the ball in disgust, then took another swipe at the air as he walked into the scorer's hut.

"I played well today, I really did," Woods said. "I missed probably about four putts that I probably should have made."

Woods has other things on his mind this week, with his father, Earl, battling cancer back in California. The elder Woods' condition is so serious his son flew across country to California the day before The Players Championship to check on him.

Woods returned to Sawgrass and tied for 22nd, hurting his chances with poor iron play and substandard putting.

Though this is the first time Earl Woods hasn't been in Augusta when his son played the Masters, Woods has refused to use his father's illness as an excuse. He prefers to focus on the course -- and what he needs to do to get another one of those green jackets.

"I enjoy tournaments where if you shoot a round in the 60s, you've earned it and you're going to move up the board. I think that's what major championships are all about," he said. "This week, that's how it's playing. I'm 1-under par and I'm in 10th, that's pretty good."