A PAIR of spectacular approach shots on the final two holes gave Tiger Woods sole lead after the second round of the £180,000 Asian Honda Classic in Thailand yesterday.

Woods finished 10 under par and two strokes ahead of the competition, firing an eight under par 64 for the day - a new record on the Thai Country Club course.

Woods started the day four strokes behind leader Lee Petters after an opening round of 70 on Thursday. The 21 year old finished yesterday with a total of 134. That put him two shots ahead of Petters, Greg Hanrahan of the United States, and Mexican Carlos Espinosa.

"I felt a lot better today, I am over the jet lag," said Woods, who arrived on Tuesday night in Bangkok after a 20 hour flight from Los Angeles. Heat exhaustion and a touch of food poisoning caused him to drop out after 13 holes of Wednesday's pro am.

Woods, whose mother Kultida is a native Thai, is playing his first tournament in Thailand since turning professional.

He had four birdies on the front nine as about 3,000 fans looked on.

By the back nine, the blazing tropical heat had driven the spectators down to less than 1,000 but it was Woods who was starting to get hot.

He birdied the 10th, but just missed putts on the 11th and 12th, leaving him seven under par and a stroke behind several players.

Woods caught the leaders on the par four 13th hole with a brilliant wedge shot from just off the green that curved right and sank for another birdie.

Another birdie on the 16th put him back in a tie for the top spot. A long and perfect approach shot on the par 5, 574 yard, 17th landed less than five feet in front of the pin for an easy birdie to give him the lead.

The normally quiet Woods finally began to acknowledge the crowd, shaking a few hands on the way to the 18th tee.

The crowd roared at another long, precise approach shot that landed to the left of the pin to set up the final birdie and a two stroke lead. "I'm in a good position at the halfway stage, but there are still two rounds to go," Woods said.