Nick Price had to negotiate the golfing equivalent of a tightrope yesterday, to protect his lead in the $5 million American Express Championship. The challenge stemmed from 25 mph winds swirling among the countless cork trees and while Price and Padraig Harrington both shot 72, the Dubliner slipped back to third place on 138 - six under par.

Though it took a sparkling 66 from Japan's Hidemichi Tanaka to edge Harrington out of second place, he would have done appreciably better had the magical putting touch of Thursday remained. But he was sufficiently pragmatic to acknowledge that "things couldn't be the same as yesterday. Golf's not like that. Even the weather was different."

Meanwhile, we had a further instalment in what has become a fascinating duel between Tiger Woods and Valderrama's notorious 17th hole. It will be recalled that with a third shot in the water 12 months ago, Woods ran up an eight; on Thursday his second-shot went into the water leading to a six; yesterday his second shot again found a watery grave but this time he made par on the way to a 69. We now await the world number one carding a birdie at the hole, having had a ball in the water.

In this latest attempt, he tried to reduce the 536-yard challenge to a drive and 165-yard nine-iron downwind - and came up marginally short. "If I had hit a high nine I would have gotten it, but the wind actually knocked it down," he said afterwards.

Did he want the wind to keep blowing? "Sure," Woods replied. "When it blows and you go out there and shoot a solid round, you know you'll move up, instead of shooting 65 and losing ground." And what of the battle for the Order of Merit? "My friend Darren (Clarke) has a wonderful chance this weekend to win the money title and I would love to see him do it." Tanaka's best-of-the-day 66 wasn't the only hot scoring. Former Smurfit European Open champion Mathias Gronberg, blitzed the front nine in 30, covering the holes from the third to the turn in birdie, birdie, birdie, par, birdie, birdie, birdie. But he came to grief with 40 on the easier back nine.

Paul McGinley did the opposite on the way to a dismal 77 for a halfway total of 147. Knocked back by a double-bogey six at the second, he took 40 for the outward journey. But a birdie at the 10th seemed to restore control of his game, before the round came to a dispiriting end with a double-bogey at the quirky 18th.

Despite his position at the top of the leaderboard, Price made no secret of his dislike of the final two holes. "The 17th is probably the worst green I've ever seen - and I'm not saying that as someone who has run up a high number there," said Price, who parred the hole yesterday. "And I don't know where you're supposed to drive the ball on the 18th."

His criticism of the last hole, which follows a curious serpentine route through the cork trees, was prompted by a closing bogey after he had driven into rough. "I felt very claustrophobic out there," he said. "I think they need to cut some of those trees down."

Harrington, who invariably makes his golf interesting, failed to reproduce his short-game exploits of an opening 66. But there was further evidence of the admirable way in which he manages his game. Self-management is something he mastered early in his professional career.

"I had it in my head going out that 70 or 71 would be a good score, given the conditions," he said. "The course was a lot tougher today but there's a long way to go and I'm in an interesting position. My wish for tomorrow is that I do better on the greens."

He then expressed bitter disappointment at the way he played the 17th, where he should have had a birdie instead of a par. After a huge drive of almost 360 yards, he needed only a seven-iron second shot but it was pulled slightly into the left swail. From there, he played an indifferent chip to four feet past the hole and failed to borrow sufficient for the right-to-left breaking putt.

Three birdies were interspersed with three bogeys in a round which placed considerable demands on his concentration. The birdies came at the fourth, where he sank a 12-footer; the seventh, where he chipped to five feet; and the par-four 16th, where another 12-footer found the target. Arguably the most irritating bogey was at the 10th, which he three-putted from the right edge.

The highlight of Tanaka's round was an eagle three at the seventh - "I try to make a two-putt, but in the cup. Surprise." And what did he think of playing in the same tournament as Tiger Woods? "I want his autograph," came the reply.