Woods Is Three Back After a 65

Guess who is in position to win another golf tournament?

Here are some hints: A sign in a wooded lot outside the MasterCard Colonial at Fort Worth reads “$15 Parking in Tiger Woods.”

A frozen yogurt stand features “Tiger Stripes” (half orange, half chocolate or vanilla).

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram gave the sellout crowd of 45,000 tiger masks on sticks.

So after 36 holes at Colonial Country Club, the big questions: How many more ways are there to take advantage of Woods’ name and what does it take to keep him from leading a golf tournament?

It’s far easier to answer the second. It takes three guys shooting a tournament record-tying 36-hole score of 129, 11 under par, and three more at nine under.

Don’t say Woods doesn’t raise the bar for everyone else in this week’s field.

“He’s the best player in the world,” said Paul Goydos, who had a 65. “That’s a fact.”

Also a fact is that Woods is three shots behind Goydos, Brad Faxon and David Frost, who shot a 63.

Justin Leonard, Jim Furyk and Bob Tway are two shots off the lead. Then come Woods and Fred Funk, who are tied at 132.

Woods started slowly, but finished fast. He played the front in par, but shot a 30 on the back, birdied the last two holes and closed with a 65.

“I picked up ground,” Woods said. “The way I’m hitting it right now, I’m very pleased.

“I’m concentrating on just getting in position for Sunday, to be somewhere near the lead on the back nine on Sunday.”

Conditions were so generous that a tournament-record 58 players scored in the 60s.

Goydos, the 32-year-old former substitute teacher from Long Beach, had a rough start Thursday, but at least it was at the hotel. Goydos had to use a dirty towel to dry off after showering because his two children had taken all the towels for themselves.

Goydos promptly went out and shot 64. He said he is superstitious, but apparently not enough to use a wet towel two days in a row.

“Hopefully that’s not the reason I played well,” he said.

Meanwhile, Woods continues to play well, heading in the direction of a possible third consecutive victory. No one has done that since Nick Price in 1993.

Can Woods do it again? Park your car, pass the yogurt and we’ll see.