KEY POINTS:
Tiger Woods birdied two of his final four holes to move within a shot of second round co-leaders Aaron Baddeley of Australia and American Jonathan Byrd at the BMW Championships at the Cog Hill Golf and Country Club.
With a chance to take over top spot in the
FedEx Cup standings heading into next week's season finale, Woods ground out a four-under 67 on a soggy afternoon.
Adding to a sleepless night for the co-leaders will be Briton Justin Rose (69), Colombia's Camilo Villegas (69) and American Steve Stricker (66) who all joined Woods on eight-under 134.
Baddeley had the round of the day, mixing eight birdies with a pair of bogeys for a six-under 65 to grab a share of top spot alongside Byrd at nine-under 133.
Byrd, who had held a one-shot lead overnight, stayed in contention with a two-under 69 - keeping alive his hopes of qualifying for one of 30 spots at next week's US$7 million Tour Championship.
Woods and Stricker played together - and the pairing might have solved the biggest conundrum facing the captain of every US Ryder and Presidents Cup team: the right player to partner Woods.
The two were partners through the opening two rounds and the chemistry did not go unnoticed as they enjoyed a good time together. Stricker, winner of the opening event of the FedEx Cup four-tournament playoff, has welcomed the chance to play with Woods and conceded that while their games do not necessarily mesh, their personalities do.
"At first I didn't really think it would be a good match, good fit," Stricker said.
"But after the last couple of days, I don't know if our games match up but I feel really comfortable with him and I think he plays comfortable with me, too.
"We had a good time out there the last couple days. I wouldn't have a problem playing with him at all."
Others, however, have problems. Hal Sutton, captain of the 2004 US Ryder Cup team, thought teaming the world No 1 one with world No 2 Phil Mickelson added up to a sure-fire winning combination.
The experiment proved to be one of the biggest flops in Ryder Cup history, Woods and Mickelson generating about as much chemistry as a meeting between Britney Spears and Prince Charles.
While Woods and Stricker have obviously enjoyed each others' company this week, the 13-time major winner stopped short of endorsing him as a potential Presidents Cup partner.
"He [Stricker] is one of the all-time nicest guys you'll ever meet," praised Woods. "It's great to see him back to playing well again. I mean, he deserves it."