By Matt Slater
BBC Sport at Hoylake |
 Woods (left) and Els are set for a classic Open showdown |
Tiger Woods and Ernie Els fired course-record 65s on Friday to set up a mouth-watering weekend on the Wirral. The Made in Britain stamp to the leaderboard on Thursday was replaced by a more international label as first Woods and then Els tamed the sun-scorched Royal Liverpool links.
The American, now on 12 under, will take a one-shot lead over his South African rival into Saturday's third round.
In between their pyrotechnics, Woods' Ryder Cup team-mate Chris DiMarco also carded a seven-under 65 to reach nine under, one better than Els' compatriot Retief Goosen, who posted a 66.
With conditions almost perfect for low scoring it is hardly surprising that the one-under-par cut is the lowest at a major since the 1990 Open - a stat that has left a jumbo full of stars heading for the airport.
And that included the likes of Colin Montgomerie, Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington.
On a beautiful day by the Dee, Woods did what many expected him to do - he chewed up the course.
His opening round had been a subdued affair, overshadowed by the nonsense surrounding his pairing with Nick Faldo, until an eagle at the last took him to within a shot of Graeme McDowell's lead.
 | Unless there's some kind of storm coming in and it's cancelled after two days we've got a long way to go |
The world number one started slowly in his second stab at Hoylake too. But once he repaired the bogey he made at the 3rd with a birdie at four it was game on.
Regulation birdies - for him - came at five and eight to get to the turn at seven under. Then the real master class began.
He birdied the 10th and 11th before providing the shot of the tournament so far.
Having hit a two-iron to the 14th fairway - his accuracy from the tee this week has been uncharacteristically good as he has hardly touched his woods - he then drained a blind four-iron for a remarkable eagle.
Another shot was picked up at the par-five 16th - he is making Hoylake's fives look embarrassingly easy - and it was something of a shock that the 30-year-old failed to do the same on 18.
Even so, his effort looked tournament-endingly good because at that point only DiMarco was even remotely in touch.
| I've got to do my thing, play my game. We'll shake hands at the end, I know that |
The British, so prominent in the first round, were in retreat everywhere. And early high-fliers on Friday like Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez seemed locked in reverse.
When asked if the Open was over for another year, Woods tried his best to be modest but nobody was buying it.
"Unless there's some kind of storm coming in and it's cancelled after two days we've got a long way to go," he said as sincerely as he could.
But then came Els to rescue the Open and perhaps restore his reputation.
The 36-year-old South African has been in an 18-month slump that was only accelerated by his unfortunate knee injury last year.
Now, at last, the 2002 Open champion looks once more like the genuine challenger to Tiger's ascendancy that he was two years ago.
In many ways, his 65 was the best of the bunch. Bogey-free and utterly in control.
Woods and Els have not played in a final group together at a major since the last round of the US Open at Pebble Beach in 2000. Tiger outplayed Ernie that day, 67 to 72.
The talk in the tent is of a "duel in the sun" this weekend to rival Tom Watson's battle with Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry in 1977.
"I've got to do my thing, play my game. We'll shake hands at the end, I know that," said Els.
Watson, by the way, carded a two-under 70 to make the cut at the age of 56.
From a domestic point of view it is a case of maybe next year.
England's Robert Rock enjoyed a roller-coaster 66 to get to six under, while Northern Ireland's McDowell fought manfully with a misfiring game to share ninth on five under.
This is two shots behind the best-placed Europeans, Jimenez and the unheralded Mikko Ilonen.
The Finn came through qualifying to get here but he has previous - he won the British Amateur at Hoylake in 2000.
England's first-round heroes Greg Owen, Anthony Wall and Lee Slattery all struggled, while the likes of Paul Casey and Luke Donald had left themselves with too much to do after poor first rounds.
At least they have third rounds to look forward to. A host of big British names don't.
 Montgomerie had high hopes of doing well - but missed the cut |
Out with Clarke and Montgomerie went David Howell and Ian Poulter, who were all thought to have chances but now just have the weekend off.
Tennis fans and economists call this the Wimbledon effect - we provide the stage, the world provides the winner.
The optimistic noises of a first British winner at the Open since 1999 now sound hopelessly out of tune.
Open legends Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo also bowed out, although the Englishman should be far happier with his one-under 71.
And there will be one other surprising absentee this weekend, world number three Vijay Singh.
But whilst most of the above went out with a whimper, John Daly went out with a bang.
Having eagled the 16th, the American needed only a bogey to survive the one-under cut but he carved his drive into the tented village and smashed his next into the crowd.
A triple-bogey eight ensued to see him miss the chop by two.
So as one big-name multiple-major winner departs, the stage is left clear for two more to go head-to-head for the 135th Open Championship.
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