Tiger tops leaderboard at Torrey Pines

"It's a good day and I'm excited about tomorrow — I get to play with Tiger," Horschel said. "I found out when I tapped in for par. I realized he was leading and I was in second place. So yeah, looking forward to that."

 

For Woods, it was his first outright lead going into the weekend against a full field since the Australian Open in 2011 (he finished third at The Lakes), and his first time atop the leaderboard at Torrey Pines since 2008. Then again, he has only played one time at this event since then when he was just starting to change his swing.

 

And while this looks ominous for everyone else, Woods with a 36-hole lead — even at Torrey Pines — doesn't mean this is over. He had a 34-10 record when he has at least a share of the 36-hole lead, though he has failed to win four of the last six times from that spot.

 

"Vintage (at) Tiger Woods today," Dustin Johnson said on Twitter after finishing eight shots behind.

 

Woods caught a break in the draw by playing the easier North — it's about 600 yards shorter — on a day of light rain, a late breeze and soft conditions. But he kept the ball in play off the tee, and he only got in trouble once. That was on the par-4 eighth hole when he drove into a tough lie in the bunker, and it led to his only bogey.

 

There's a simple formula for playing the North — make birdie on the par 5s and pick up a few more on the short par 4s. And that's just what he did.

 

Woods missed birdie putts inside 8 feet on the opening two holes and was taking baby steps until he took off. It started with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th. He followed with the 5-iron that landed just left of the pin on the 18th, a two-putt birdie on the par-5 first hole, and his wedge that took one hop, struck the flag and settled 4 feet away.

 

"Drive the ball well here and you're going to probably have four iron shots into the par 5s," Woods said. "You sprinkle that in with probably four or five wedge shots in there, a round of 6- or 7-under par is definitely conceivable."

 

Brad Fritsch, a rookie from Canada, had a 67 on the South Course to lead the group of six players at 8-under 136. The others were Casey Wittenberg, Steve Marino, Jimmy Walker, Josh Teater and Erik Compton, whom Woods referred to as "remarkable" for being a two-time heart transplant recipient and being on the PGA Tour.

 

Defending champion Brandt Snedeker didn't fare so well. After opening with a 65 on the North, he made only one birdie and twice took bogey on the par 5s on his way to a 75 that left him seven shots behind. K.J. Choi, who had a 65 on the South Course, couldn't break par on the easier North and had a 73 to fall five behind.