Brandt Snedeker expands his lead, and his gallery; Woods seven strokes back
Published: Friday, January 26, 2007 | 8:15 PM ET
Canadian Press: DOUG FERGUSON
SAN DIEGO (CP) - Brandt Snedeker didn't know how golf could get any better than an opening-round 61 until he walked up the 18th fairway to a standing ovation Friday after expanding his lead and the size of his gallery at the Buick Invitational.

"I thought, 'This is what it feels like to be Tiger Woods,"' he said. The only thing sweeter would be to beat him.

Snedeker overcame some sloppy tee shots with brilliant iron play for a 2-under 70 on the menacing South Course at Torrey Pines, giving the 26-year-old rookie a three-shot lead over Charles Howell III going into the weekend.

The only Canadian in the event, Victoria's Jim Rutledge, failed to make the cut after firing a second round 73 for a 4-over-par-148 total.

Woods also received a raucous cheer on the final hole, but only after he topped a 5-wood out of the bunker that nearly went into the water, blasted a pitch over the green into another bunker and escaped with par for a 72 that left him seven shots behind.

"All in all, it was a pretty ugly 5," said Woods, the two-time defending champion going for his seventh straight PGA Tour victory.

Snedeker again struggled off the tee, hitting only three fairways. It got so bad that when he finally hit his first fairway on the back nine (No. 15), he had a man in the gallery say, "I finally won a dollar."

"I guess he was betting on me hitting the fairway," Snedeker said. "It wasn't a smart bet."