AKRON, Ohio — Jim Furyk hit a lot of wedges, made a bunch of birdies and is leading the NEC Invitational.
Right behind is Tiger Woods, who hit just about everything else.
A left-handed shot. Tree roots with his 9-iron. A tree with his left elbow.
For good measure, he also hit a flagstick.
The wild ride ended Friday at Firestone Country Club when Woods made a 15-foot birdie on the final hole for a 67 that left him tied with Phil Mickelson and only two shots behind Furyk going into the weekend.
He's lucky he can even play.
With a shot that was as entertaining as it was frightening, Woods hit into tree roots and his left arm smacked a tree on No. 13. He dropped the club at impact and winced, and a bogey only added to the pain.
"The healthiest shot was to take two club lengths and drop," he said. "The best shot was to go for it, try to put the ball in the fairway, wedge it up there and make par."
Furyk provided no such thrills but was hardly complaining.
On a Firestone course that favors big hitters, Furyk was solid on the back nine for a 4-under-par 66 and will take a two-stroke lead into the weekend.
"Two shots is nothing," said Furyk, who was at 9-under 131. "Two shots can change on one hole. I'm going to continue to attack the golf course and play the same way I have the first two days."
Two shots is an even slimmer margin considering Woods and Mickelson, the top two players in the world rankings and past champions at Firestone, are on his heels.
Mickelson, coming off another heartbreaking finish in a major, had a bogey-free 66 and will play in the final twosome with Furyk on Saturday.
The real threat could be Woods.
He has won the past two NEC Invitationals, including a record-setting 259 last year for an 11-stroke victory. And it appeared he might make it another runaway Friday with birdies on five of the first 10 holes for a two-stroke lead.
That's when the show began.
It started with a drive left into the rough, next to a tree on some roots that were exposed. Woods went at it hard with a 9-iron and dropped the club at impact.
"The plan all along was to hit it hard with the right hand and let go with the left hand," he said. "I think the tree root won."
From the rough, he played his next shot over the green and made bogey.
It was reminiscent of the 1999 Tour Championship in Houston, when Woods had a grapefruit-size rock behind his ball in the right rough. He hit the rock to get at the ball and suffered a stinger that went away. He wound up winning by four strokes.
"I've done this before," he said. "I've played out of bushes, off of rocks, of just about any kind of surface. You know what a lie will take out of you if you do try and go at it."
This one caused a twinge in his left elbow, but he survived.
He also wised up.
Woods drove into the left rough on the 625-yard 16th, chopped out across the fairway into more rough and was partially blocked by trees with water guarding the green.
He pitched out.
"I could have gone for the pin, but today is only Friday. There was no need risking it," Woods said.
Not that it mattered. His fourth shot hit the flag, and then he three-putted for a double-bogey.
Still, the 67 was his sixth straight round at that score or better at Firestone. And it left him in good shape — at least on the leaderboard — going into the weekend.
Stuart Appleby had a 64, putting him at 134 and giving him a tee time with Woods on Saturday.
Padraig Harrington of Ireland and Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland also were at 134. They already have locked up spots on the European Ryder Cup team, but Bernhard Langer took a big step toward securing his place with a 67 that left him at 136.
BETSY KING CLASSIC: Moira Dunn shot a 6-under-par 66 Friday and held a one-stroke lead over Wendy Doolan after two rounds of the LPGA's Betsy King Classic at Kutztown, Pa.
Dunn, seeking her first tour win, had seven birdies Friday and was at 10-under 136 through two rounds on the course at Berkleigh Country Club. She began the day three strokes behind first-round leader Heather Daly-Donofrio.
Doolan's 67 left her at 135, one stroke ahead of Daly-Donofrio, who had a 71, and Mhairi McKay, who shot a 67.
Rachel Teske, the 1998 champion, had three birdies on her front nine and took the lead at 9 under, but she had a double-bogey on the back and finished with a 71. She was tied at 137 with Audra Burks, who had a 68.
CANADA SENIOR OPEN: Jim Thorpe followed his course-record opening round with a scrambling 2-under-par 69 Friday and took a two-stroke lead in the AT&T Canada Senior Open.
Thorpe, coming off a record-tying 63, had four birdies and two bogeys to finish 36 holes on the historic Mississaugua Golf and Country Club course at 10-under 132.
Walter Hall was second after a 66, and Bruce Fleisher birdied the final four holes for a 66 to join Howard Twitty (68), Mike McCullough (68) and Mike Smith (66) at 7 under. Tom Kite (70) and Danny Edwards (69) were 6 under.