By Paul Newberry
The Associated Press

A large gallery watches as Tiger Woods walks around the sixth green during the second round of the British Open. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

SANDWICH, England - Davis Love III saw his ball bouncing toward a creek and thought he was headed toward a double bogey. Instead, he made par.

Tiger Woods stood over a 3-foot putt, ready to sign for a par. Instead, he wrote down double bogey.

Just another British Open, where the humps and hollows of links golf tend to create all sorts of craziness.

U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk? He missed the cut.

S.K. Ho, Hennie Otto and Marco Ruiz? They're heading to the weekend.

Par? Fuhgetaboutit.

Love, the sole survivor to par at Royal St. George's, used a freak bounce and three clutch putts to build a two-shot lead Friday in the British Open.

Still, he spoke cautiously about heading into the weekend with 27 players - Woods and defending champion Ernie Els among them - within five shots of his lead.

"This is one that gets you focused on the task at hand," Love said after his 1-over 72. "It keeps you from thinking about other players. That's why this tournament is going to be so hard to win. It's not going to be just a golf shot, or a putting contest.

"It's going to be a big mental test."

Love passed the first two stages and was at 1-under 141, giving him his first lead on the weekend at a major since he won the 1997 PGA Championship at Winged Foot.

No one is sure what to expect over the next two days, because nothing about Royal St. George's is ever as it seems.

Woods was closing in one the lead as he stood over a routine 3-footer for par on the 12th hole. Three putts later, he had a double bogey and staggered home to a 72, four shots out of the lead.

"I hit a lot of good shots, made a ton of putts," Woods said after a 72 left him four strokes behind. "I just had the one hole where I hit more putts than I should have."

Even more bizarre is what happened to Love.

Coming off back-to-back bogeys, his lead down to a single shot, Love's drive flared out to the right on the par-5 14th hole, toward a row of white posts with a creek called the Suez Canal on the other side.

The ball hopped hard to the right, nowhere to go but out of bounds, until it caromed off the 3-inch wide stake and back into play.

"We're all going to get crazy bounces," Love said. "But I think that was three good bounces all used up in one hole."

He made par instead of double bogey, the margin of his lead. It didn't make the next two days any easier.

Ho, a South Korean who plays on the Japanese tour, struggled down the stretch to a 73 and Thomas Bjorn of Denmark had a 70. They were at 143.

Three strokes behind were Sergio Garcia (71), Kenny Perry (70) and Thomas Levet (73), the Frenchman who lost to Ernie Els in a playoff at Muirfield last year.

As for the Big Easy? Don't count him out, either.

Els recovered from a 78 by giving himself birdie chances at every turn and finishing with a 68, the only guy to break 70. He was at 146, along with Phil Mickelson (72), Nick Price (72) and Fred Couples (75).

"At least I've got a chance now," Els said.

The sun baked out fairways and sent tee shots hopping all over the links. The pins were some of the toughest ever, tucked on knobs and slopes.

"It's right on the verge of being ridiculous," said Greg Norman, who started the day one shot out of the lead and shot a 79, his worst score in 88 rounds in the British Open.

Love was at 4 under and leading by two shots when everything started to get away from him. He three-putted from 25 feet for bogey on No. 12. He had to make an 8-footer to escape with bogey on the next hole.

What followed saved the day - or at least his lead.

Squinting into the bright sun and a brown landscape, Love saw his drive sail to the right and bounce toward the water.

"I saw it kicked right and thought, 'Oh, no. That's a big kick,"' Love said.

He never saw the ball smack off the post and stay on the links, only the marshal who turned to Love and gave him a thumbs-up sign.

How big was that break?

Instead of having to hit his third shot from the tee, Love sneaked off with a par.

Then, he let his putter take care of the rest.

Love made a 15-footer for par on the 15th, and holed from 10 feet for bogey on No. 17 after taking two shots to get out of a pot bunker. He finished off his round with a risky chip that bounced perfectly off the ridge to 4 feet for par on the final hole.

"I felt like a threw away a lot, but also saved a lot," Love said. "It was just one of those days to grind it out."

Woods was two shots off the lead when he stood in the 12th fairway with a sand wedge.

His approach stopped just short of the fringe, 30 feet from the cup, and Woods ran the putt no more than 3 feet past the hole.

Easy par, right?

The 3-footer caught the left edge of the cup and rolled 30 inches away. The next putt started left and stayed there.

Woods also bogeyed the 17th and had to make a 6-footer for par to limit the damage.

"I thought I played good enough to score a little lower, but hey - I'll take it," Woods said. "I'm right there in the hunt."

At a glance

A look at Friday's second round play in the British Open.

LEADING: Davis Love III, who shot a 72 and was at 1-under-par through 36 holes.

JUST BEHIND: S.K. Ho and Thomas Bjorn, two shots behind at 1 over. Seven players were another shot back.

WHERE'S TIGER? Woods was four shots behind after a second round 72.

DEFENDING CHAMP: Ernie Els shot the best round of the day, a 3-under 68, after opening with a 78.

TIGER'S TROUBLE: Woods 3-putted from 3 feet on the 12th hole.

GREAT BOUNCE: Love's tee shot on the 14th hole was headed out of bounds when it hit a 3-inch stake and stayed in play.

GREG'S FALL: Greg Norman, who won here 10 years ago and opened with a 69, shot a second round 79. He still made the cut.

NOTEWORTHY: Tiger Woods has never won a major after failing to break par in the opening round and never won one after coming from behind.

QUOTEWORTHY: "What they should do is take the guy who set the flag positions and shoot him. He's just a masochist. Every single one was on the hump." - Mark Roe, after shooting a 70.

KEY TEE TIMES: Tiger Woods, Mathias Gronberg; 9:30 a.m.; S.K. Ho, Davis Love III; 10:30 a.m.

British Open Scores

Yardage: 7,106; Par: 71

Second Round

Davis Love III	69-72-141
S.K. Ho	70-73-143
Thomas Bjorn	73-70-143
Alastair Forsyth	74-70-144
Ben Curtis	72-72-144
Hennie Otto	68-76-144
Thomas Levet	71-73-144
Sergio Garcia	73-71-144
Kenny Perry	74-70-144
Marco Ruiz	73-71-144
Vijay Singh	75-70-145
Scott McCarron	71-74-145
Mathias Gronberg	71-74-145
Tiger Woods	73-72-145
Chad Campbell	74-71-145
Fredrik Jacobson	70-76-146
Craig Parry	73-73-146
Phil Mickelson	74-72-146
Nick Price	74-72-146
Ernie Els	78-68-146
Andrew Oldcorn	72-74-146
Peter Lonard	73-73-146
Gary Evans	71-75-146
Fred Couples	71-75-146
Phillip Price	74-72-146
Stuart Appleby	75-71-146
Mark Foster	73-73-146
Gary Murphy	73-74-147
Chris Smith	74-73-147
Jose Coceres	77-70-147
Markus Brier	76-71-147
Charles Howell III	71-76-147
Jesper Parnevik	72-75-147
Mark Roe	77-70-147
Ian Woosnam	73-75-148
Bob Estes	77-71-148
J L Lewis	78-70-148
Adam Mednick	76-72-148
Mathew Goggin	76-72-148
Tom Watson	71-77-148
Angel Cabrera	75-73-148
Robert Allenby	73-75-148
Retief Goosen	73-75-148
Greg Norman	69-79-148
Padraig Harrington	75-73-148
Raphael Jacquelin	77-71-148
John Rollins	72-76-148
K J Choi	77-72-149
John Daly	75-74-149
Len Mattiace	74-75-149
Pierre Fulke	77-72-149
Anthony Wall	75-74-149
David Lynn	73-76-149
Shingo Katayama	76-73-149
Duffy Waldorf	76-73-149
Katsuyoshi Tomori	72-77-149
Tom Byrum	77-72-149
Skip Kendall	73-76-149
Mark McNulty	79-71-150
Brad Faxon	77-73-150
Rich Beem	76-74-150
Michael Campbell	78-72-150
Trevor Immelman	77-73-150
Paul McGinley	77-73-150
Stewart Cink	75-75-150
Stephen Leaney	74-76-150
Darren Clarke	75-75-150
Mike Weir	74-76-150
Mark O'Meara	73-77-150
Rory Sabbatini	79-71-150
Ian Poulter	78-72-150
Nick Faldo	76-74-150
Tom Lehman	77-73-150
Brian Davis	77-73-150
Peter Fowler	77-73-150

British Open Tee Times - Saturday

At Royal St. George's Golf Club

All Times EDT

4 a.m. - Peter Fowler

4:10 a.m. - Tom Lehman, Brian Davis

4:20 a.m. - Ian Poulter, Nick Faldo

4:30 a.m. - Mark O'Meara, Rory Sabbatini

4:40 a.m. - Darren Clarke, Mike Weir

4:50 a.m. - Stewart Cink, Stephen Leaney

5 a.m. - Trevor Immelman, Paul McGinley

5:10 a.m. - Rich Beem, Michael Campbell

5:25 a.m. - Mark McNulty, Brad Faxon

5:35 a.m. - Tom Byrum, Skip Kendall

5:45 a.m. -Duffy Waldorf, Katsuyoshi Tomori

5:55 a.m. - David Lynn, Shingo Katayama

6:05 a.m. - Pierre Fulke, Anthony Wall

6:15 a.m. - John Daly, Len Mattiace

6:25 a.m. - John Rollins, K.J. Choi

6:35 a.m. - Padraig Harrington, Raphael Jacquelin

6:50 a.m. - Retief Goosen, Greg Norman

7 a.m. - Angel Cabrera, Robert Allenby

7:10 a.m. - Tom Watson, Mathew Goggin

7:20 a.m. - J.L. Lewis, Adam Mednick

7:30 a.m. - Ian Woosnam, Bob Estes

7:40 a.m. - Jesper Parnevik, Mark Roe

7:50 a.m. - Charles Howell III, Markus Brier

8 a.m. - Chris Smith, Jose Coceres

8:15 a.m. - Mark Foster, Gary Murphy

8:25 a.m. - Phillip Price, Stuart Appleby

8:35 a.m. - Gary Evans, Fred Couples

8:45 a.m. - Peter Lonard, Andrew Oldcorn

8:55 a.m. - Nick Price, Ernie Els

9:05 a.m. - Craig Parry, Phil Mickelson

9:15 a.m. - Chad Campbell, Fredrik Jacobson

9:30 a.m. - Mathias Gronberg, Tiger Woods

9:40 a.m. - Vijay Singh, Scott McCarron

9:50 a.m. - Kenny Perry, Marco Ruiz

10 a.m. - Thomas Levet, Sergio Garcia

10:10 a.m. - Hennie Otto, Ben Curtis

10:20 a.m. - Thomas Bjorn, Alastair Forsyth

10:30 a.m. - Davis Love III, S.K. Ho