Tiger Woods struggled but made the cut at the US Open. Now the world number one needs to solve his putting woes in a hurry and match the greatest 36-hole comeback in tournament history.

Defending champion Woods fired a one-under par 69 in Saturday's second round at Bethpage Black to finish 36 holes on three-over par 143, 11 strokes off the pace of US leader Ricky Barnes entering the third round.

To win his 15th major title and move three shy of the record 18 won by Jack Nicklaus, world number one Woods must equal the 11-stroke record rally by 1975 winner Lou Graham over the last two rounds at Medinah.

"I'd like to. There's no doubt. I'm hitting it well enough," Woods said. "I just need to obviously make a few more putts. And get it rolling."

Woods was 10 back following the first round, a deficit no one has overcome to win a US Open, after playing the last four holes in four over-par. A bogey at the ninth Saturday marked the second day in a row Woods ended on a bogey.

"The putts I hit well didn't go in and the putts I hit poorly weren't even close," Woods said.

Woods, seeking a record-tying fourth US Open title, was likely to face a difficult and long slog to the finish as storms were approaching similar to those that made the course unplayable Thursday.

"Unfortunately, my score doesn't reflect how I've been playing," Woods said. "But you never know. I've got 36 more holes over the next probably three days.

"It's one of those things where if I keep plugging along just like any US Open, make a birdie here and there, we'll see where it ends up."

Woods stood on the eventual cut at four-over, the second-lowest cut in US Open history and one stroke above the record from 2003, after a birdie at the par-5 13th and a bogey at the par-4 15th.

But he birdied the 18th and first holes back-to-back to gain some breathing room, answered a bogey at the par-3 third with a birdie on the par-5 fourth and had a cushion to allow for his concluding bogey.

"You could be pretty aggressive - have the ball on the fairway, no mud on the ball, be aggressive firing at the flags," Woods said.

"The frustrating thing is you have to hit the putt so hard... the greens are so bumpy and so slow. They're getting slower and slower. You don't want to give it a little too much and run it past the hole because you know how bumpy it is coming back.

"It's hard to make yourself hit the putts that hard considering this is a US Open. Generally they're pretty quick. But it is one of those things. You have to make the adjustments."

Woods was undone by playing in the first round Thursday and early Friday when torrential rain made conditions harsh. His rivals enjoyed near-perfect conditions Friday and Woods again found himself playing in the rain Saturday.

"(Friday) was the day that did it. Especially on my half of the draw," Woods said. "I had to finish at even par, 1-over par at the worst. That would have been a really good score.

"But instead I ended up at 4-over par, and that was about the mean for the day on my side, which is not what it's going to take to win a US Open. You have to do better than that."

AFP

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