Campbell clings to lead, Tiger hangs tough at windy Masters

AUGUSTA: Chad Campbell birdied the 18th hole to finish a two-under par 70 in windy conditions on Friday and claim a two-stroke lead in the second round of the 73rd Masters with Tiger Woods struggling.
Campbell, the 2003 PGA Championship runner-up seeking his first major title, birdied two of his first four holes and added two more at the par-5 eighth and par-4 10th before the swirling winds of Augusta National's Amen Corner struck.
The US veteran took bogeys at the par-4 11th and par-3 12th before parring the par-5 13th after having torched the famed three-hole stretch in two-under Thursday on his way to the lead with a 65.
"It was definitely a little tougher," Campbell said.
Campbell took another bogey at 17 but drained a long putt over a downhill slope to ensure he would not suffer a second consecutive bogey-bogey finish.
"It was moving pretty good. I'm glad it hit the hole. That's what it's there for," Campbell said of his final putt. "A good way to end, good vibes going into the weekend."
Campbell missed the cut in three of his five prior Masters starts but shared third in 2006. He has not won a PGA event since taking his fourth tour triumph at the 2007 Viking Classic and knows the year's first major is far from over.
"It feels great but we're only halfway there," Campbell said. "There's a lot of golf to be played. I like my position. I'm looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully I can keep doing what I'm doing."
Top-ranked Woods, seeking his 15th major title to pull three shy of matching Jack Nicklaus' all-time mark, was nine strokes adrift of Campbell at one stage but was two-under overall through 13 after parring his way through Amen Corner.
Augusta National took revenge after surrendering low scores in a windless opening round, the swirling breezes changing once-perfect weather into the unpredictable trouble usually offered in the Georgia pines.
"It's probably two or three shots more difficult," US veteran Steve Flesch said after a 74 Friday.
Campbell sat in the clubhouse atop the leaderboard with 48-year-old Kenny Perry, another American without a major title, his nearest rival at eight-under through 15 holes thanks to back-to-back opening birdies plus more at 12 and 15.
American Todd Hamilton, the 2004 British Open winner, fired a second-round 70 to stand third on six-under 138.
American Jim Furyk, the 2003 US Open champion, opened bogey-birdie-bogey to stand at five-under alongside Argentina's Angel Cabrera, the 2007 US Open champion, who was through five holes.
Northern Ireland teen Rory McIlroy made the leaderboard in his Masters debut with a stunning eagle at the par-5 13th to reach a share of sixth at four-under par, the same mark as Japan's Shingo Katayama after seven holes.
Hamilton missed the cut in seven of nine prior starts this year but will see the Masters weekend in the last year of his exemption from his major triumph.
"On paper I haven't played very well but inside of me I haven't felt like I've played awful," Hamilton said.
"My career has been up and down. I play well for a little stretch, then I don't play well. It's a really odd career, steady at times yet I look like I don't even belong out there sometimes."
Hamilton endured a roller-coaster round, following two early bogeys with three birdies in a row starting at the par-5 eighth. He answered a bogey at 11 with an eagle at the par-5 15th and followed a bogey at 16 with a birdie at 18.
"Greens are still holding quite well," Hamilton said. "Yesterday you didn't have to hit right at the pins to have a good putt. Most holes today it's just the opposite. Hit one just a little off and instead of 10 feet you've got 30."
"It's nice to get off to a good start. If I can look at that and downplay how big this event is, I will be OK."
Irishman Padraig Harrington, trying to become only the third man to win a third major title in a row, was at three-under through four holes after opening with a 69. Also on three-under was Fiji's Vijay Singh through five holes.
Two-time British Open winner Greg Norman, the 54-year-old Australian whose history of Masters heartbreak is legendary, was two-over on the day and at level par through the tournament through six holes.
South African legend Gary Player at 73 years old was on the back nine of his last competitive round in the Masters in his record 52nd appearance.