Woods shares lead at Cog Hill

“I hit a terrible tee shot there at one, a quick hook with a three-wood,” Woods said.“I had a few opportunities to make bogeys but I had some good saves. Overall, I kept very patient.” Woods and Wilson have been rivals for nearly two decades, first meeting in a United States Junior Championship.“Mark and I […]

“I hit a terrible tee shot there at one, a quick hook with a three-wood,” Woods said.“I had a few opportunities to make bogeys but I had some good saves. Overall, I kept very patient.”

Woods and Wilson have been rivals for nearly two decades, first meeting in a United States Junior Championship.“Mark and I go back to when I was 16,” Woods recalled. “I think I was two-down with four (holes) to go and I think I won every hole coming in.

“But it was a good match. Mark went to North Carolina (University) after that and we played against each other in college, and we have been out here (on tour) for a while.”Wilson may have lost that day but he does have some home course advantage over Woods at Cog Hill, regularly playing the course when he is at home.

Wilson, who won the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico in March, did not make a great start on Friday, but gained some confidence by sinking a 10-foot par-saving putt at his first hole.

“That kind of settled my nerves,” he said. “Then I just rolled in birdie putts when I had them and made a couple of saves. The greens have been rolling good for me.

“I’ve been able to read them good and see the lines.” Harrington almost drove out-of-bounds at the par-five 11th, but his ball stayed in by about a foot and he capitalised by making birdie.

He was not as fortunate at the par-four 18th, where he carved his drive out-of-bounds and had to hit a provisional. He played three with his second ball to drop just one stroke, his first bogey of the week.

“I would like to tell you that the two 68s were totally orthodox and it was fairways and greens but at times I struggled a bit,” said Harrington.

“At times I played really well. There were a lot of contrasts out there. I’m hoping for the contrast to move in favour of more good shots, even though I’ll settle for another two 68s on the weekend.”