Seamless as baton is passed

Whether by design or accident, Tiger Woods yesterday found himself walking in the footsteps of the man who set all the targets, his guiding light. As the old clock on the R&A clubhouse at St Andrews edged toward 12.58pm, the starter's dulcet tone introduced Jack Nicklaus - the greatest golfer of all time - to the first tee for what would be his last, his 38th, appearance in the British Open.

Precisely 33 minutes later, three groups back, Woods was called to the tee. Just as one generation merges into another, the baton of greatness is passed on; and here, at the home of golf, it was both seamless and appropriate. While Nicklaus made an emotional bow to the majors, applauded as he made his way around the Old Course one last time, the player who would be king took another inevitable step toward assuming the mantle.

In shooting a second-round 67 that hinted at even greater things, Woods reached the midway stage of the 134th British Open Championship with a 36-hole total of 11-under-par 133 and a four-shot lead over Colin Montgomerie, his nearest pursuer.

Nicklaus, meanwhile, missed the cut, but with sufficient reminders of old glories that it was a close-run thing to surviving into the weekend.

"My biggest fear coming here was I didn't want to finish shooting a pair of 80-somethings," remarked the Golden Bear, who shot 75, 72. No disgrace.

Woods, meanwhile, traipsed in Nicklaus's footsteps.

But the emotion of what was happening in the groups ahead didn't filter back. Instead, he remained cold and clinical, focused on his goal of winning.

"I don't think anyone's going to catch him. The only chance we have is if the weather changes to get bad," said John Daly, champion in 1995, the last man other than Woods to win the claret jug on these famed links.

Others, though, held out hope. "Look at Retief (Goosen) at the US Open. You never thought he'd mess up," said the world's number two, Vijay Singh, one of a large group on six-under 138. "I'm not worried about Tiger. I'll just go out and play my game, and shoot as low as possible,"

On a day when the weather gods favoured the golfers rather than the course, the wind that assailed the early starters dropped to a zephyr and Woods tightened his grasp on the championship. His nearest challenger overnight, Mark Hensby, paid with a 77 for remarking that links golf was no different from any other. Defending champion Todd Hamilton's miserable season continued as he recorded a second 74 to bid adieu to his title.

But there were others who refused to wilt. Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson recorded 67s to rebound toward the fringes of contention, and Brad Faxon, who had taken the qualifying route to make it to St Andrews, recorded a 66 to move up to join the seven-strong group on the 138 mark, five behind Woods.

In truth, yesterday was about two men: Nicklaus, the winner of 18 majors, bidding farewell to a sport he has long graced; and Woods, who has not yet reached his 30th birthday but with nine majors to his name is the dominant golfer of his generation.

"Jack's the greatest champion that's ever lived," said Woods. "There's nobody that's been as consistent for as long a period of time as Jack. From the time when he won his first major to his last, no one's ever been that consistent. He's been the benchmark for every player that's ever played the game, at least in my generation."

Yesterday, though, Woods kept focused at the task in hand: reclaiming the claret jug. He completed his second round without dropping a shot.

His five birdies came at the third, from six feet; the fifth, from 25 feet; the ninth, where he drove the green and two-putted from 50 yards; the 10th, where he drove the green and two-putted from 20 feet; and the 14th, where he reached the green with a three-iron approach and two-putted from 60 feet.

Woods won't be looking over his shoulders at those in pursuit.

"I still have to go out and put up a quality round tomorrow, the same on Sunday. Yeah, there are some good names up on the board, but I still have to take care of my own business and that's a lot out here on this golf course.

"There are a lot of things that can happen. You have to be committed to what you're doing out there and not really worry about what everybody else is doing. You have enough issues out there to worry about," said Woods.

Ominously for those in pursuit, Woods has led or tied the lead on 26 occasions at the midway stage. On 20 of those occasions, he has gone on to win. History favours him, rather than the pursuers.

Perfect symmetry with Nicklaus, really.