Torrey Pines has been one big tease through two days of the U.S. Open, evident by a mixed bag of scores ranging from the eagle, bogeys and a late run of birdies for Tiger Woods to an 11-shot improvement for Padraig Harrington. Players praise the public course as being fair - now that's a word seldomly heard at this major - but no one is having an easy time. Davis Love III, who had to qualify for the first time in two decades, birdied two of his last three holes for a 2-under 69 that left him tied for the clubhouse lead with D.J. Trahan, who also had a 69.

They were at 1-under 141, safely finished as Rocco Mediate, Stuart Appleby and Oliver Wilson tried to hang on at 2-under in an afternoon of the famous "June Gloom" haze that settled over Torrey Pines.

"If you're 1 under par through two rounds in a U.S. Open, you're doing something right," Trahan said. "Like anybody will tell you, this isn't a birdie contest. This is a survival contest."

Woods was doing a little of both.

He was slipping down the leaderboard with two bogeys on his opening three holes, only to turn it around by blistering a tee shot on the 614-yard 13th hole and hitting 5-wood to 10 feet for an eagle. His momentum shifted as quickly as sunshine gave way to cloud cover, with back-to-back bogeys from the bunker, then shaping a shot just under a tree from inches inside a cart path, leading to consecutive birdies.

All that work and he was even for the day, 1 over for the tournament, still jostling for position.

Phil Mickelson was having to work hard to stay in the mix, dropping shots out of the sand, but saving par out of the hazard behind the par-3 third green with a flop shot out of the gunch and a 25-foot par putt that he celebrated with a double fist-pounding.

What did it all mean?

Listen to the voice of experience, with two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els (72) and 2006 winner Geoff Ogilvy (73) at even par for the tournament, both feeling optimistic about their chances despite failing to break par.

"Sometimes you can be contending in the U.S. Open and feel you're playing horribly, because you're bogeying holes," Ogilvy said. "It hard to know how you're playing sometimes. If you've done it, you can look at it objectively and say it's really not that bad."

The body language of Els was more queasy than easy, but birdies on his final two holes brought perspective quickly.

"I've played well in the U.S. Opens before, so I kind of know what to do mentally and what to expect," Els said. "This course hasn't changed much. This one is a lot more playable than the last two or three we've had. So I feel quite comfortable."

No one expected much of the first-round leaders, both ranked outside the top 600 in the world, and they faded quickly.

Justin Hicks was 8 over and finishing up a forgettable second round.

Streelman was in the front bunker on the par-3 third, playing 195 yards from the back tee, when he blasted over the green and into the hazard, leading to a triple bogey. He added two double bogeys and shot 77. Even so, he was at 3-over 145, and he surely would have taken that at the start of the week.

"I'm a little bit disappointed in how I played today," he said. "But hopefully, it's my bad round, and I've got to make a move tomorrow."

No one made a move quite like Harrington, whose 67 was the best score of the week. Perhaps even more impressive was that it followed an opening 78 and he kept bogeys off his card. That also put him at 145, very much in the hunt.

"Strangely, I felt like I played better yesterday," the British Open champion said. "I came out today and played nicely - maybe not as good in terms of striking. I had the odd missed shot, but I was holing putts that I was missing yesterday. When you're doing that, it makes it so much easier to hit your shots to the green."

There were some shocking putts by so many others, but very few answers.

Vijay Singh, feeling comfortable after opening with 71, four-putted No. 1 for a double bogey on his way to a 78, his worst weekday round at the U.S. Open.

"I still played really well," he said.

Adam Scott was keeping pace in the Woods-Mickelson group until he watched eagle turn into bogey with a four-putt on the par-5 18th as he made the turn. He lagged to 5 feet, narrowly missed the birdie putt, then watched in horror as he tried to sweep in an 18-inch putt and saw it catch the left corner of the cup.

Another recovery came from Sergio Garcia, who was 6 over after his first seven holes on Thursday and didn't make a bogey Friday until his 12th hole. A birdie on the par-5 18th, where the tee again was pushed forward, gave him a 70 and put him five shots behind.

"I'm in good shape in the championship now," Garcia said. "We'll see where I am at the end of the day. The positive thing is that I'm right back in the tournament, and I'll now try to have a great weekend."

Written By DOUG FERGUSON

Email To A Friend