[ MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS ]
Woods carding
uncharacteristic
numbers
KAPALUA, Maui >> Double bogeys and Tiger Woods aren't usually playing partners.
But this week at the $5.3 million Mercedes Championships, Woods already has a pair of the big numbers dressing his scorecards. Both are key reasons the world's No. 1-ranked player trails No. 2 Vijay Singh by nine shots entering today's third round.
"I have given up a lot of shots the first two days," Woods said. "I just need to get off to a good start and stop putting myself in a hole. You know, yesterday I was over par. I had to keep fighting back to get under par.
"I was 2-over (Thursday) and 3-over (yesterday). It's tough when you have to keep fighting back and the guys who are going ahead are making birdies. I have to make birdies just to try to get back to even par. And now, maybe I can get back in this thing."
Woods enters the weekend tied for eighth at 5-under 141. Singh is on top at 14-under 132 after closing the second round with seven consecutive birdies. Unlike Woods, Singh has been able to trust his swing.
"I haven't been able to and that's hurt me," Woods said. "I should have birdied about six holes in a row on the front side after opening 3 over on the first two holes. I missed three putts I should have made.
"Normally the way I play I don't make this many mistakes. That to me is frustrating. I understand if I'm struggling with my swing, I'm hitting it all over the lot. That's one thing. But I'm making silly mistakes, not being decisive enough on certain shots. It's frustrating when you do things like that."
For the second straight day, the golfers had to deal with the Kona winds, something Woods just isn't used to.
"It was swirling," Woods said. "It changed. The first hole, when we first played it, was more almost straight out of the left, now it's more into. As the day was going on, it was changing. I've never played No. 9 like that. I hit 5-iron, 5-iron over the green.
"I've hit driver, driver there, hit a pitching wedge in there. Plus, they've actually moved the fairway in on nine. You can't put the ball down in that flat spot like you used to. You put it in that flat spot, you're in the first cut of rough."
Still, Woods believes he's in the chase.
"If I just clean up my round of golf, not make so many mistakes, then I would have been up closer to the lead," Woods said. "But now, I've got to try to play a great round of golf to try to get myself in contention."
Sony Open field set: Twenty-three of the 30 golfers playing in this week's winners-only event are set to compete at next week's Sony Open in Hawaii. It is the first full-field event on the PGA Tour.
Three of the four Grand Slam winners -- Shaun Micheel (PGA Championship), Ben Curtis (British Open) and Jim Furyk (U.S. Open) -- are part of the 144-person field that includes local amateur Michelle Wie. Masters champion Mike Weir is one of the seven golfers here skipping the tournament at the Waialae Country Club.
The other six are Woods, Kirk Triplett, J.L. Lewis, Fred Couples, Justin Leonard and Bob Tway.
Wie in Safeway event: It was also announced yesterday that Wie has accepted a sponsor's exemption to play in the Safeway International on the LPGA Tour in March.
The 14-year-old Punahou student played seven times on the LPGA last year, making the cut in six events with a tie for ninth at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, a major.
"Michelle will showcase some of the great young talent that is out there in women's golf and bring a new excitement to the tournament," said Tom Maletis, general chairman of the event.
The Safeway International, played March 18-21 at Superstition Mountain, has a $1.2 million purse and usually has 90 of the top 100 players on the LPGA Tour.
B.J. Wie said his daughter likely will play six LPGA events this year, the maximum exemptions allowed.
Tough opening act: The first two holes of the 7,263-yard course were the most difficult for the second straight day. On the first day, hole No. 1 was the toughest, with the second hole ranked No. 2. They switched roles yesterday.
For the tournament, the 473-yard, par-4 first is still the most difficult, with a scoring average of 4.383. Woods has one of the four double bogeys and is 3-over for the tournament on the first hole alone.
"My drive on the first hole today was lost," Woods said. "The marshals never saw it because they're actually expecting someone to hit the ball a little bit farther than that. When I hit it like 210 off the tee, diving left, I don't know, it was short. The people in the grandstands saw it and were trying to help. We found about eight or 10 balls, but none of them were mine."
The par-5 ninth was the easiest hole yesterday, but the par-5 18th remains the easiest for the tournament with a scoring average of 4.533. The 663-yard hole, the longest on the PGA Tour, surrendered five eagles and 132 birdies through the first two rounds. There have been only three bogeys.
Defending champ rebounds: Ernie Els needs to shoot 28-under over the final two rounds to equal his PGA Tour record of 31-under-par of a year ago. He birdied three of the last four holes yesterday to move to 3-under 143. He had a double bogey at the 14th.
Els is one of the 23 golfers here heading to the Sony Open next week. He is the defending champion at that tournament as well and said earlier this week he was looking forward to playing in Hawaii once more.
"It's a good way to get off to a fast start," Els said. "I don't think I can equal what I did last year, but I'm sure going to try."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.