Woods and Daly just behind three leaders at Buick Open

GRAND BLANC, Mich.- Vijay Singh kept a share of the lead at the Buick Open on Friday and there were plenty of big names in contention after two rounds.

Singh, the first-round leader, Jim Furyk and Billy Andrade were tied for the lead at 11 under.

John Daly matched his best round of the year with a 64 and was tied with three others one stroke behind the leaders. Tiger Woods had a 4-under 68 and was among four others another shot back.

The cut was 4 under, matching the low for the season on the PGA Tour.

Singh, who had a 70 Friday, was one of the few on the leaderboard unable to take advantage of soggy conditions that made Warwick Hills even more susceptible to low scores.

Furyk, playing in his fourth tournament since having wrist surgery in March, has a legitimate shot at being the first to repeat at the Buick Open since Tony Lema in 1965.

He had a second-round 67, hitting every fairway for the second straight day, and has been in the 60s in 14 of his last 16 rounds at Warwick Hills.

Andrade has picked up where he left off last week when he finished tied for fourth at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, his only top-10 finish in 20 events. He followed an opening 68 with a 65.

Daly had a 64 at the Nissan Open in February when he finished fourth. He missed the cut at both the British Open and the Masters and hasn’t had a top-10 finish since April. But the popular player won the Buick Invitational six months ago, his first victory since the 1995 British Open.

Woods pulled within a shot of the leaders with a birdie at No. 14, but followed that with his first bogey of the tournament on the next hole. He failed to birdie the par-5 16th after a lackluster chip and putt.

Players vying for a spot on the Ryder Cup team have three tournaments left – Buick Open, The International and the PGA Championship – to earn points with top-10 finishes.

The top 10 players earn automatic spots on the U.S. team.

Jerry Kelly and Scott Verplank, 11th and 12th in the points, were both 7 under and tied for 15th. Fred Funk, in eighth place, withdrew from the tournament with a rib injury and Jeff Maggert, who is 10th in the standings, missed the cut.

Steve Flesch, currently ninth, just made the cut at 4 under.

AP-ES-07-30-04 1851EDT