Woods rallies to stay in touch

DAVID FROST swept to a 7 under par 63 yesterday to take a share of the second round lead at the MasterCard Colonial in Texas with Brad Faxon and Paul Goydos.

But Tiger Woods struck five strokes from par for a 30 on the back nine and his 65 moved him within three shots of the leaders.

Frost's bogey free performance propelled him into first place with Faxon, the first round leader who shot a 66 on Thursday, and Goydos, who followed an opening 64 with a 65.

That put the trio at 11 under 129 heading into the weekend showdown.

Just in Leonard (67), Jim Furyk (67) and Bob Tway (66) were two off the lead at 131.

However, with another massive gallery cheering him on, Woods still loomed as the man to beat.

A Colonial title would give the 21 year old sensation victories in three consecutive starts, which has not occurred on the PGA Tour since Nick Price did it in 1993.

Woods missed several short putts in matching par 35 on the front side and at that point was eight strokes behind the leaders. But birdies on the 10th and 11th got him rolling and he birdied three of his closing five holes.

Despite his solid 66, Faxon took a mild swipe at Woods, joking: "I didn't have my, `A' game today. It was a C minus.

Woods used such terms to describe his stunning victory last month at the Masters and his less spectacular triumph at the Byron Nelson Classic last week.

Pressed about Woods, Faxon suggested the superstar still has a little to learn about life on the PGA circuit: "I mean, seriously, it's impressive what he's done," said Faxon, a five time tour winner.

"He's making it sound like he's the only one," Faxon said. "Jack Nicklaus won a lot of tournaments when he wasn't playing well. Tom Watson was the same way.

"It's the mark of a champion to win tournaments without having everything together."

Faxon disclosed that he had discussed the subject of "winning ugly" with Woods last December in a Florida telephone call.

"He'd been saying that when he was beating everybody. I told him, `You better be aware of what you're saying and how it's being taken by your (colleagues).' I think he was listening. He was silent.

"Tiger's the most successful player that's come along," Faxon added. "He has superb confidence."

Weather forecasts for the weekend called for a good chance of rain today and tomorrow, leaving players uncertain of what conditions they will face.

"It all depends on if we get rain," Woods said. "This course can be very hard, if the wind blows."