Losing patience with each missed putt, Woods finally knocked in a 10-footer on the ninth hole and was on his way.

With five birdies on the final 10 holes, he pieced together another 5-under-par 67 and surged into a share of the 36-hole lead with Nick Watney at 10-under-par 134 in a World Golf Championship tournament that had a distinctive American flavor.

Seven of the top nine players on the leaderboard were from the United States.

Far more tantalizing going into the weekend was Woods and Phil Mickelson - who ended their PGA Tour season with a compelling battle in Atlanta - going at it again halfway around the world.

Woods missed six birdie chances inside 20 feet and was growing increasingly agitated until one putt on the ninth hole changed his outlook.

"It certainly was a little bit frustrating, but the guys weren't running off and hiding, either," Woods said. "I knew if I could just play the back nine at 3 under par . . . I figured that would probably be a pretty good number. And I did a couple better than that."

Mickelson chipped in for birdie on the 15th hole, then recovered from a poor tee shot with an unlikely birdie on the 16th.

After trying to play short off the tee on the 288-yard hole and hitting into a bunker, Mickelson faced an awkward distance and a slightly plugged lie in the sand. He blasted a pitching wedge to 12 feet and made another birdie.

"One of the best shots I hit all day," Mickelson said, and one final birdie on the par-5 18th hole gave him a 66.

Mickelson was part of a crowd at 9-under 135. He was joined by Alvaro Quiros, the Spaniard reputed to be golf's biggest hitter, who shot a 66, and Ryan Moore, who made an eight-foot eagle on the 18th hole and finished his round at No. 9 by chipping in for birdie.

LPGA Tour

Lang, the long-hitting former Duke star, is winless in four seasons on the Tour.

Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa had a 71 in the event, co-sanctioned by the LPGA of Japan.