SECOND ROUND LEADERBOARD -4 Woods (US), Donald (Eng) -3 DiMarco (US), McGinley (Ire), Bjorn (Den), Singh (Fij), Stenson (Swe) -2 Appleby (Aus), Howell (Eng), Toms (US), Garcia (Spa), Leonard (US)

Donald shot a three-under-par 67 while Woods, aiming for his fourth NEC title, double bogeyed the last for a 70.

Ireland's Paul McGinley is one shot back after a 66, alongside Denmark's Thomas Bjorn (67), Fiji's Vijay Singh (71) and America's Chris DiMarco (70).

England's David Howell (68) is two under and Kenneth Ferrie (70) one over.

It had been a clinical display by world number one Woods until he reached the 18th.

But a wild drive into the trees led to him hacking his way up the rough and dropping back into a share of the lead.

Donald, still seeking his first victory of a season which has seen him move close to breaking into the world's top 10, said: "I'm pleased. I didn't do much wrong and never got into much trouble.

"I've been beating myself up a little bit lately because my results have not been what I'd like, but I'm trying to treat this as kind of a fun week."

Meanwhile, England's Ian Poulter returned a 69 for two over overall, alongside Scotland's Colin Montgomerie who hit a 72.