Zimbabwe's Nick Price fired a second-round 68 yesterday to take a one-shot lead into the third round at Sun City. Price, nine-under par over the first two rounds, leads American Mark O'Meara by one shot.

England's Lee Westwood, who hit a sparkling 65 to surge up the leaderboard, is joint third on seven-under par with O'Meara's compatriot Justin Leonard.

Bernhard Langer had a steady 70 to follow his first round 69 to stay within four shots of Price. He is joint fourth with South Africa's Ernie Els on five-under.

Tiger Woods fought back from a dismal start, when he double-bogeyed the eighth, to claim four birdies over the last eight holes to keep in touch with the leaders.

It had been a frustrating afternoon for Woods, playing with the in-form Westwood, who was named European golfer of the year on Thursday and celebrated with the day's best round.

The 22-year-old American threw down his putter in despair after missing a simple putt for a birdie on the 10th, and held his head in his hands.

"God, can I get any worse than this. I haven't hit a good shot all day," a frustrated Woods said.

Westwood started with a bogey on the par-four first hole, before turning his day around dramatically, by moving his grip higher.

"I had some problems with my putter on the first day, and when I missed from five-foot on the opening hole I thought this could be a long day.

"Then I made a little adjustment to my grip, and it started to work," he said.

Scotland's Colin Montgomerie had a disastrous day. His trouble began on the par-four third hole when he putted back and forth across the cup for a double-bogey.

Montgomerie, who topped the European Order of Merit for the sixth year running, had four more bogeys to complete a miserable day at one-over par.

"All in all a good day for me," said Price. "I wasn't particularly concerned about hanging on to the lead today. I just wanted to be in a position where I was either one or two back and that's where I want to be tomorrow."

He picked Westwood as the player to watch over the last two rounds.

"Lee Westwood is capable of shooting some really low numbers if he gets his putter going, as he showed today, and I think he's going to be ready to attack the golf course tomorrow.

"He's achieved a lot in a relatively short career. He can play anywhere. He's proven that," said Price. "He's a good, straight driver of the golf ball, and if he makes a few putts then he can be a very dangerous player. And he's going to have a chance come Sunday."