By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Kenny Perry, of Franklin, Ky., celebrates with his caddie Fred Sanders after chipping in for birdie on the par-4 18th hole. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

DUBLIN, Ohio - No rain and breezy conditions Friday meant faster greens and a victory for the golf course in round two of the Memorial Tournament.

Kenny Perry, who may have had the most anonymous victory in the modern history of the PGA Tour last week at the Annika Sorenstam, er, Colonial tournament, has a one-stroke lead (65-68, 133) over U.S. Open champions Retief Goosen and Lee Janzen, who shot consecutive 67s.

"I kind of come out here, do my deal, work, and I have flown under the radar," explained Perry, 42, of Franklin, Ky., a five-time winner on tour. "I have always said I was a good golfer, (that) I was never a superstar."

Perry doesn't have to look far to find a superstar: Tiger Woods is only five strokes back (67-71, 138).

What is that saying one sees on some rear-view mirrors? Yes, here it is: "Objects may be closer than they appear."

Or, for the optimists out there, here's a quote from Bob Dylan: "What looks large from a distance, close up ain't never that big."

Take your pick.

The bet is that most people, even PGA Tour players, believe that the former is the case as regards Woods: Five strokes back with two rounds to play is a hiccup away for Woods.

Woods looks at it that way. "With the weather coming in (today), you've got to go out there and hit the ball well and judge the wind correctly," Woods said. "You can make up shots here, especially with the wind swirling around - all it takes is a couple of bad swings and and you can head in the wrong direction pretty easily."

Most of Woods' bad swings had nothing to do with the wind. They would have yielded bad results even in a vacuum. He hit poor putts, back to back, on No. 8 and No. 9 for double-bogey and bogey, respectively, finishing with a front-nine 38.

"Two poor putts ... my shoulder was high ... hence the blade was releasing early," said Woods, ever the technician. "It wasn't on the arc it needed to be on."

But he shot a back-nine 33, birdieing No. 10 and eagling the par-5 15th hole.

On 18, he gave a stroke back.

Tiger Woods waits to putt on the eighth hole during the second round at the Memorial Tournament Friday. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

"I hit a driver there, trying it to the corner, and I absolutely hit a pull hook," he said. "(But) I got lucky. I was trying to put the ball in the front bunker there. I hit it way too hard ... and I left myself (in) the only spot that you can't put yourself on that pin, which is long. I had a hell of a pitch shot to get to where I was. It was a good putt, didn't break at the end, but a good putt - where I was looking."

Only one of the top 10 players on the leaderboard shot a better score Friday than he did Thursday - Robert Gamez (70-68).

"Anyone hitting the ball well, they are going to do all right (if) the wind is swirling (today) - you have to hit the ball flush," Woods said.

First-round leader Charles Howell III ballooned to 74 after a first-round 64. Even the more veteran Perry, who has been on tour full time since 1987 - and bagged his first tour victory here in 1991 - was three shots worse than his opening round.

"(But) everything that can go my way is going my way," Perry said. "The 4- or 5-footers I need to make for par, I'm making right now. ... Then I will make a 20-footer for birdie. ...My dad has put a strong will in me to want to win, no matter if it's a golf tournament, cards, checkers. ... He always said, 'You're just as good as they are.' "

Leaderboard

Kenny Perry	65-68-133
Retief Goosen	67-67-134
Lee Janzen	67-67-134
Vijay Singh	67-69-136
Spike McRoy	68-68-136
Chad Campbell	67-70-137
Robert Gamez	70-68-138
Tiger Woods	67-71-138
Charles Howell III	64-74-138
Jim Furyk	68-70-138
Stewart Cink	70-69-139
Luke Donald	70-69-139
Mark Calcavecchia	69-70-139
John Rollins	70-69-139
Adam Scott	67-72-139
Tim Herron	72-68-140
John Huston	66-74-140
Justin Leonard	71-69-140
K.J. Choi	70-70-140
Carl Pettersson	70-70-140
Lee Westwood	72-68-140