July20 Garciaholdingsteady

Having already improved 24 strokes on his last Open at Carnoustie, Sergio Garcia went out Friday to protect a lead.

Tiger Woods was lurking, however.

Garcia returned to “Car-Nicely” for the second round, looking to build on an opening 6-under-par 65 that once again raised expectations he might finally win his first career major.

The emotional Spaniard slipped a bit with a three-putt bogey at No. 4, but he remained even for the round with a pair of birdies on the par 5s. After sinking a short birdie at No. 14 – the sort of putts that have bedeviled Garcia in the past – he tellingly pumped his fist.

All eyes in the afternoon figured to be on Woods, who shot 69 Thursday in a strong start to his quest to win a third straight Open title. The last to pull off a three-peat was Peter Thomson, more than a half-century ago.

Woods added another signature moment to the majors when he holed a 90-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th.

Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez nearly made a hole-in-one at that daunting, 248-yard hole. His tee shot stopped just inches beyond the cup for a tap-in birdie, on the way to a 70 that had the “Mechanic” solidly in contention for his first major title.

Garcia, Jimenez and all the other Europeans are trying to break the continent’s eight-year drought in the majors. Scotland’s Paul Lawrie was the last to win one, at this very course in the ’99 Open – which, of course, is mostly remembered for Jan Van de Velde squandering a three-shot lead on the 72nd hole.

Ireland’s Paul McGinley, a Ryder Cup stalwart for Europe, had a late tee time after starting with a 67.

Jim Furyk, the 2003 U.S. Open winner and a runner-up last month at Oakmont, kept up his strong play in the majors with a second straight 70. He took a bogey at No. 10, but actually caught a break when a shot heading for the Barry Burn caught a bridge railing and stayed dry, albeit up against a tree that forced Furyk to improvise his next swing.

“I’m relatively happy,” he said. “I made some mistakes, both physical and mental. But I played a bunch of practice rounds. I feel comfortable where to put the ball.”

And be sure to tune in for the next episode of “Boo Does Britain.”

Boo Weekley, a country boy from the Florida Panhandle, was making quite a splash in his first Open. He may be scared to drive on the left side of the road, but he had little trouble with Carnoustie, getting within two strokes of the lead at 4 under.

While Garcia was holding steady, the same couldn’t be said for 18-year-old amateur Rory McIlroy. The kid from Holywood (Northern Ireland, not California) struggled to a 76 after rousing the galleries with a a bogey-free 68 Thursday.

His downfall started before the turn, when he knocked a shot out of bounds at No. 9. After taking a penalty drop, McIlroy missed a short putt and tapped in for double bogey. He quickly made two more bogeys on the back side, flipping his club in the air at one point in disgust.

Still, McIlroy was sure to make the cut in his first Open. Not bad for a player who won’t be getting a payday, not matter where he finishes.

“Just to play the weekend at the Open is fantastic,” he said. “Hopefully I can enjoy the next couple of days and play some good golf.”

Even though the breeze picked up off the North Sea and the pins were tucked into tougher spots, Carnoustie was playing more like “Car-Nicely” – a striking contrast to the beast that brought most of the world’s top players to their knees in 1999, when the Open last came to this historic links.

That year, Garcia opened with a triple bogey on his way to an 89, still the worst round of his professional career. He followed with an 83, his second-worst round, and headed home at 30-over par, driven to tears by a course known as “Car-Nasty.”

On Thursday, Garcia birdied the very first hole and couldn’t help but notice how much difference eight years can make. Even if he doesn’t remove the title of best player never to win a major, he might already have clinched another award.

“Most improved,” Garcia quipped.

But Carnoustie can still delve out plenty of misery. Phil Mickelson, whose never played that well on this side of Atlantic, was in danger of missing the cut after taking a disputed penalty on his way to a 77, his erratic driver letting him down again.

At the 18th, Lefty knocked it into the Barry Burn and wound up missing about a 3-footer for double bogey, leaving him with a disappointing 6-over 148 at the midway point.

Vijay Singh also took a double bogey at the final hole, where he sailed a 3-wood out of bounds. He slipped back above par, though a 143 should give him a shot at redemption on the weekend.

John Daly isn’t likely to get that chance. The ’95 Open champion climbed to the top rung of leaderboard Thursday at 5 under par – then dropped eight shots over the final seven holes, including a triple-bogey 8 from a greenside bunker on the 14th hole.

He struggled again Friday with a 76, meaning he played his last 25 holes at 13 over.