Woods and Nicklaus revel in the limelight

Emotional, unforgettable scenes marked the climax to the second round of the 82nd USPGA Championship here at Valhalla yesterday.

Almost predictably, they had to do with the greatest names from the past and the present, Jack Nicklaus who departed the scene with a flourish, and Tiger Woods who became the clear leader on 11-under-par.

As the two players stood on the 18th tee, Woods turned to the older man and urged him quietly - "Let us finish off the way we're supposed to".

In the still of evening on a par-five of 542 yards, that could mean only one thing.

Nicklaus, the course designer, was first to respond when, after laying up, he judged his own handiwork to perfection, hitting a wedge third-shot which came to rest two feet from the hole.

Woods by that stage was deep in the front bunker in two and came out an unpromising 15 feet from the target.

Knowing his partner had only a tap-in seemed to force the supreme effort from the 24-yearold.

Either way, the putt dropped into the hole to resounding cheers as the past and the present came together in the most meaningful way imaginable.

"I've really enjoyed playing with Jack - the atmosphere has been great for me," said Woods afterwards.

"I didn't have my best game today or yesterday, but I'm proud of the way I tried to place my shots so as to give myself the best chance of birdies."

So, by adding a 67 to his opening 66, Woods compiled a halfway total of 133.

It left him a stroke clear of the surprisingly tenacious Scott Dunlap, who had shared the lead with him overnight.

Nicklaus, on the other hand, was forced to bow out when a 71 left him on 148, which will be probably a stroke outside the cut when the second round is completed this morning.

"Over the last two days, I have seen a young man hit his irons so far and with so much control, as to turn my layout into a pitch and putt course," said Nicklaus.

"He's a little longer and stronger than I was in my prime, but it is the way he controls the ball which is most impressive."

By way of offering a temporary respite to his struggling rivals, Woods behaved like an accomplished high-wire artist, producing the odd stumble to heighten the excitement of the occasion.

So it was that instead of leading by six strokes, as he did at the same stage of the US Open at Pebble Beach, or by three, as he did at St Andrews last month, he had to be content with a modest, one-stroke advantage.

For all of Woods' dominance, it was a fascinating day's play, not least for the emergence of a new, albeit temporary, leader. "I fully expect Tiger will be ahead of me when the day is over," said J P Hayes, a 35-year-old with Limerick ancestors, after a 68 had swept him to the top of the leaderboard on 137.

Only victims of sunstroke would have argued with that prediction.

Any lingering doubts were removed when Woods rolled in an eight-footer for another birdie at the long seventh to be nine under at that stage.

Three inches of rain on Thursday night saturated the course to the extent that it was possible to start yesterday's play an hour late, only after some frantic work by the grounds staff.

The other crucial factor would have been hilarious, were it not so serious.

We had players screaming to high-heaven about the curse of slow play, as if some unseeing hand were dragging them back on every tee.

Either way, officials with stopwatches were out in strength yesterday to ensure that players didn't have to endure cramp, through immobility.

Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn became the leading European challengers on four-underpar.

"I think the par-fives are playing more difficult but the greens are certainly easier," said the Dane, after a sparkling 68. For his part, Clarke had to finish birdie, birdie for a 72.

"Looking at the guy at the top, you know you have to shoot a good number," concluded Bjorn. And we all know what he meant.