By Rob Hodgetts BBC Sport at Hoylake

There are many ways to wreck a scorecard on the 14th

Anyone thinking the Royal Liverpool course will lie down and allow itself to be ravaged this weekend could receive a slap in the face.

Sure, there are birdies and eagles out there, as the second-round 65s of Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Chris DiMarco will testify. And Woods' lowest winning total of 19 under par, set at St Andrews in 2000, could well be under threat.

But all the chasers know it's not Woods they are fighting. "I've just got to keep playing the course and forget about him," said Els.

Woods himself fears only one opponent. "One through 18. If I can just get past those holes I should be OK," he said.

But if the drying conditions, rising wind and threat of thunderstorms offer a potential banana skin at every turn, there's a stretch of holes on the back nine - Hoylake's answer to Amen Corner but with better sea views - that could make or break a card.

Running alongside the beach, and overlooking Hilbre Island and the Dee Estuary in Hoylake's most picturesque spot, lurk the 12th, 13th and 14th. Very much a case of beauty and the beast.

Woods holed his second shot with a four-iron to eagle the 14th

Woods applied the afterburners to his second-round charge on Friday with an eagle two at the 456-yard par-four 14th.

But the attractive dog-leg left has played the second hardest hole on the course - averaging 4.325 shots after 36 holes - and has dimmed plenty of hopes among mere mortals.

From the natural amphitheatre of a tee nestling among the dunes, the options include a monster drive over the left bunkers and gorse, requiring a carry of well over 300 yards to find the short grass the other side.

Only a very few, the likes of John Daly, Angel Cabrera and Vijay Singh have tried it, and only Cabrera made it through to the weekend.

Dismissing the "tiger" line, Woods has joined the majority of the field in opting for a three-iron or rescue club to the fast-running fairway, protected by three bunkers up the right.

The cautious approach has paid off with 81% of drives finding the fairway in the first few days. But it is the second shot - Woods' aside - that has caused the grief, with only 48% of players finding the green in two.

A steep bank on the right and thick scrub left contributed to 84 bogeys, 14 double bogeys and three triple bogeys in the first two rounds, including one from Ian Poulter on Thursday.

But it is the 12th that is the hardest hole on the course. The good-looking 448-yard par-four runs parallel to the beach but the average of 4.373 shots reveals its ugly side.

The 12th also provides a stern test even for the very best

The hole, like the others, can play upwind or downwind in a matter of hours, as the swirling breeze changes with the tide, according to marshal John McLaughlin, a Hoylake member.

The blind drive over a sea of long grass and dunes offers two options but players tempted to smash a driver on a line towards the right edge of the distant stand better hope their aim is perfect.

There is a narrow gap through the traps, but a bunker at 297 yards and gathering rough await left, while a steepish bank can kick the hard-bouncing balls into one of the four sandy sentinels on the right.

The safer option favoured by most is a three-iron, three-wood or rescue club to run up short of the traps. But any slight crosswind can play havoc with the best-laid plans, as a 60% success rate in hitting the fairway shows.

And with only 53% finding the green in two, it's no surprise there were 97 bogeys, 12 doubles and two even worse scores in the first two rounds.

"On a windy day this is a hell of a hole," said McLaughlin.

Between the two lurks the short, picture-postcard 13th with the miniature lighthouse behind. But even this little tinker punches above its weight and is rated the ninth most difficult with an average of 3.122 shots.