NEWS » landed on heads.A subsequent retake of the toss l

GULLANE -- Tiger Woods couldnt get anything close all day except for the one place that mattered at the British Open. His name high on the leaderboard. Woods didnt charge into contention Friday at Muirfield as much as he kept from falling back like so many others. Not only did he go 12 holes without a birdie, he only had two reasonable chances before finally cashing in with a 15-foot putt on the last hole for an even-par 71. It looked even better as the day went on, and more players ahead of him kept dropping shots on the some of the fastest greens at the British Open. When the second round ended, Woods was at 2-under 140, only one shot behind 49-year-old Miguel Angel Jimenez. Woods was tied with Lee Westwood (68) and Henrik Stenson (70). He plays in the penultimate group Saturday with Westwood. "Just continue plodding along," Woods said. "Just continue being patient, putting the ball in the right spots. Were not going to get a lot of opportunities out there, but when I have, Ive been able to capitalize. And hopefully, I can continue doing that." It was enough to impress Graeme McDowell, who found himself caught up in watching golfs No. 1 player work his way through the wind. "There will be no surprise to me if hes picking up the claret jug on Sunday night," said McDowell, who also had a 71 and was 4-over 146. "But Im not writing off the rest of the field. Theres quality players there in this field, and Im certainly not writing myself off. But if he continues to play the way hes playing, hes going to be tough to beat." For three hours in the middle of his round, Woods looked like he was trying to hang on. Getting the speed of the green was tough enough after officials hand-watered the greens overnight, making them slower than what Woods faced Thursday afternoon. The real problem was judging the speed of the fairways. Six times he came up short of the greens as he tried to bounce his shots off the firm turf and onto the putting surface. On consecutive holes, Woods finally saw the ball run onto the green and over the back. From just short of the 10th green, he knocked his putt some 15 feet past the hole and made that coming back for par. He was short enough on the 11th that he chipped over a hump about 10 feet by the hole, and missed that putt to make bogey. On the 14th and 15th holes, his shots landed 30 yards short of the green and both times ran off the back edge. He hit a flop shot from mangled grass to 3 feet on the 14th, and he chipped to 5 feet on the 15th. Both times, he saved par. It was hard work, and Woods looked the part. "I was having a hard time to get the ball to chase, and then on top of that, trying to hit the putts hard enough going up the hills," Woods said. "But then toward the middle part of my round, I lost the pace and was blowing it past the hole. But finally got it fixed at the end." The key for Woods comes on Saturday. He had a share of the 36-hole lead last year at the U.S. Open and PGA Championship and fell too far back after the third round to seriously contend. And he has never won a major when he wasnt atop the leaderboard going into the last round. "Im not going to win every major I play in," Woods said. "But certainly I can try and put myself there. If I give myself enough opportunities, Ill get my share. And I think I have so far in my career." McDowell wasnt sure what impressed him more -- the clutch putting or control Woods had of the flight of his irons. Fridays round was played in an opposite wind out of the east, and it led to some significant adjustments. Hit 3-wood off the tee and a 6-iron onto the green at the 448-yard 15th on Thursday. The next day, it was a 5-iron off the tee and sand wedge just over the green. The par-5 17th hole was downwind in the opening round, so Woods hit 4-iron off the tee and 4-iron onto the green. On Friday, he hit 3-wood off the tee and for his approach, leaving that some 50 yards short of the green. As for the driver? That remains a rumour. McDowell said he had to check twice with Joe LaCava, Woods caddie, "that the driver head cover actually had a driver underneath it." "Because it actually hasnt seen the light of day -- not even close," McDowell said. "Hes playing the golf course conservatively, using his iron play to devastating effect. Very impressive. I said to him on the 18th green, That was a clinic the last two days. That was very impressive. Combo that with some great putting, hes going to be dangerous." Woods was asked how many drivers he has hit this week. "Ive hit, I believe, about eight or 10," he said. And then when he was asked where, Woods smiled and said, "On the range." McDowell has seen plenty of Woods over the last few years. He played with Woods in the final group at Bay Hill last year, which Woods won by five shots. He played with him in the final round at Doral this year and made a strong run until Woods won going away. "He was very, very impressive the last two days," McDowell said. "He will not be far away this weekend the way hes playing. Iron play, the flight control that he has in his irons ... he just hits the shot that youre supposed to hit at all times." China NCAA Hockey Jerseys . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Wholesale NCAA Baseball Jerseys . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. http://www.cheapchinancaajerseys.com/ .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. Cheap College Jerseys . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Cheap College Basketball Jerseys . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Cronullas Wade Graham has left Gold Coast rival Ryan James fuming after allegedly lying at the golden point coin toss in Mondays NRL draw at Robina.James, leading the Titans in place of injured co-captains Nathan Friend and Will Zillman, said Graham changed his call after the toss to decide who would kick off the opening period of extra time in the 18-all draw.Graham was the Sharks representative at the toss with captain Paul Gallen sitting on the interchange bench.James said after initially calling tails, Graham had claimed he called heads when the coin landed on heads.A subsequent retake of the toss landed the Sharks way and allowed them to receive the kick off for the first set of the sudden-death period - a potentially match-winning advantage.It should have been us receiving but we had to kick off. We would have had an extra set, James said.Thats a massive play ... I was frustrated at that.If Graham had committted the crime though, he wasnt confessing any time soon.ddddddddddddYoull have to go back and check the tape there, the representative forward told AAP.The referee is there to officiate it. I only play the game.Mondays result keeps the Sharks on top of the ladder but ends their remarkable 15-game winning streak.Hard-running prop Andrew Fifita completed the match but left the ground on crutches and favouring his left leg.The Sharks couldnt elaborate on whether Fifita was injured or just suffering cramp, but coach Shane Flanagan will be hoping its not serious with a crunch match against third-placed Canberra this weekend.Thats going to be massive isnt it, the way theyre playing and us coming off 90 minutes, Graham said.Im sure Shark Park will be filled up. Its going to be a cracker game. ' ' '