Tiger takes lead at Tour Championship

Tiger Woods eyes his tee shot on the fourth hole. He leads Padraig Harrington and Sean O'Hair by one shot after shooting a 2-under 68.

ATLANTA - Tiger Woods had a chance to pull away from the field, but had to settle for a one-shot lead yesterday in the Tour Championship.

Over the final four holes, Woods missed consecutive putts from about 4 feet - one putt for eagle, the other for birdie - and closed with a bogey for a 2-under 68 at East Lake to lead Padraig Harrington and Sean O'Hair.

Woods was fuming over the missed putts. He found perspective shortly after signing for his seventh consecutive round in the 60s.

Despite the lost opportunities, he was at 5-under 135 and in great position to capture the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus.

"Today's round probably could have been one or two better, for sure," Woods said. "But overall, I'm very pleased with my scoring the first two days."

None of the other players among the top five seeds - who can win the FedEx Cup with a victory at East Lake - were among the top 10 on the leaderboard going into the final two rounds.

Harrington would have to win the Tour Championship and have Woods finish in a two-way tie for second. O'Hair needs a victory and for Woods to be in at least a three-way tie for second.

The possibility is there. Woods is 33-7 when he has at least a share of the 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour, although it was only a month ago that he had a four-shot lead in the PGA Championship and wound up losing to Y.E. Yang.

The immediate concern is winning the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake. And those scenarios also are numerous.

Ernie Els came to life with five birdies over his last 10 holes for a 66 and was only two shots behind at 3-under 137. Kenny Perry, who nearly wilted in the heat Thursday, also had a 66 and was at 2-under 138, along with Jerry Kelly (67).

Elsewhere

LPGA: Sophie Gustafson shot a 3-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead over Lorena Ochoa, Maria Hjorth and Shanshan Feng in the CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge in Danville, Calif.

Gustafson, who posted the last of her four career LPGA victories in 2003, had a 10-under 134 total. The top-ranked Ochoa shot a 67, Hjorth had a 66 and Feng a 67.

CHAMPIONS: Russ Cochran and Denis Watson share a 6-under 66 lead after the first round of the SAS Championship at Cary, N.C.

Joey Sindelar, Larry Mize, R.W. Eaks, Dan Forsman, Jim Thorpe and Tom Pernice Jr. were tied one stroke back.

Scores, Page C7