Choi and Appleby lead AT andT; Woods lurking

Bethesda, MD (Sports Network) - K.J. Choi and Stuart Appleby both posted rounds of three-under 67 on Friday to share the second-round lead of the AT&T National.
The pair, both of whom were among a large group of first-round leaders, finished 36 holes at seven-under-par 133 and are three ahead at Congressional Country Club.
Craig Kanada hit every fairway and green on Friday and shot a three-under 67, He is tied for third place with Robert Garrigus (67) and Billy Andrade (68) at minus-four.
Tournament host and new father Tiger Woods got himself back into contention on Friday. He carded a four-under 66 and is part of a group tied for 12th place at one-under-par 139.
Woods began on the back nine at Congressional on Friday and birdied the par- four 12th from 22 feet. He bogeyed the 15th hole, but responded with an eight- foot birdie putt at No. 16.

On his second nine, Woods flew out with a 10-footer for birdie at No. 1. He made a mess of the sixth, but closed with three consecutive birdies, all from longer than six feet.

Woods' putter worked much better on Friday after he applied lead tape to combat the slowness of Congressional's greens.

"I hit it about as good as I did yesterday. Only difference is I made a few more putts," said Woods, who took nine fewer putts on Friday. "I feel like I at least gave myself a chance where if I play two good rounds, I have a chance of winning the tournament, instead of having to play one great round or even two great rounds to get myself into that same position."

One player who will not have a chance to get into contention on the weekend is Phil Mickelson, who also played for the first time since the U.S. Open.

His round came apart thanks to a double-bogey at the 16th hole that featured two drops and an errant shot that came very close to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Mickelson also double-bogeyed the last when he found water. He finished with a second-round, three-over 73 that gave him a plus-seven total, three shots from the 36-hole cut mark.

"Coming down the stretch, I made a few mistakes that were unfortunate," said Mickelson.

Choi kick-started his round with a short birdie putt at the first, then rattled off back-to-back birdies at four and five, with the birdie at five coming from close to 40 feet.

Choi rolled in a three-footer for birdie at the par-five ninth, but at the par-three 10th, he hit a rescue club over the green and could not get up and down for par.

At the par-five 16th, Choi two-putted from a long distance for a birdie, but once again had trouble following a birdie. The wind pushed his drive at 17 and resulted in another bogey, but Choi is in position for a first-ever sweep of tournaments related to great players.

He captured Jack Nicklaus' Memorial tournament earlier this season and since this is the first edition of Woods' elite-fielded event, Choi could be the first to win both in the same year.

Choi's not ready to think about that.

"I don't want to talk about that, it's too early to say whether I'm going to win or not," said Choi. "Jack's tournament was very meaningful, but this one is going to be very meaningful, too. I just think it's very important for me to stay focused, try my best, hole-by-hole, day-by-day and not to get too ahead of myself."

Appleby first broke into red figures on Friday at the fourth hole when he sank a 20-footer for birdie. He collected two birdies in a row at seven and eight, but bogeyed No. 9.

His final birdie of the round came at the par-five 16th. The Australian ran home a six-footer to join Choi in the lead.

"It's a long way to go, a long way to go," said Appleby, echoing the sentiments of his fellow co-leader. "There's really some good finishing holes so you don't even contemplate anything until you putt out and see where the cards lay."

Vijay Singh, one of the first-round co-leaders, only managed a one-over 71 and is tied for sixth place with Fredrik Jacobson (69) and Steve Stricker (70). The trio is knotted at three-under-par 137.

Jesper Parnevik (68), Justin Rose (69) and Mike Weir (66) share ninth place at minus-two.

Jim Furyk, the fourth overnight leader, struggled to a four-over 74 and is tied for 18th place at even-par 140. Joe Ogilvie, the final first-round leader, shot a 77 and is tied for 48th at plus-three.

Mickelson was not the only high-profile player to miss the weekend. Davis Love III (148), Adam Scott (148) and Charles Howell III (150) all failed to make the cut.