The Associated Press

IRVING, Texas - The position atop the leaderboard should be familiar to Tiger Woods. So should the company he'll be keeping at the Byron Nelson Championship.

Woods sprinkled in a few birdies with some solid par saves for a 3-under 67 Friday at cool, blustery Cottonwood Valley and took a one-shot lead for the second week in a row. The surprise is who will join him on the first tee today - Mark O'Meara, 47, his best buddy on the PGA Tour.

Instead of a practice round at a major championship or a casual round at Isleworth when they're home in Florida, they will be in the final group of a $5.8 million tournament that means something to both for different reasons.

Woods, the No. 1 player in the world, has come under severe scrutiny for a game that has produced only one victory this year and no majors in his last seven tries.

"I've always felt comfortable when I've been in the lead," Woods said, although he lost the 36-hole lead last week at the Wachovia Championship, ending a five-year streak of winning when he led going into the weekend.

O'Meara, who had a 4-under 66, has not won on the PGA Tour since the '98 British Open and is playing this year on a one-time exemption for being in the top 25 in career money. Even though he won earlier this year in the Dubai Desert Classic - a field that included Woods and Ernie Els - there is no substitute for winning at home. "It would be huge," O'Meara said. "The last 2 1/2 years, it has been a battle of not playing well, a battle of not putting well, a battle of not being excited about being on the road. It would be a thrill to have a chance to win come Sunday afternoon."

Woods was at 8-under 132, his best start ever at the Byron Nelson Championship. Sergio Garcia, who finished third in his PGA Tour debut at the Byron Nelson five years ago, birdied three of his last four holes on the TPC at Las Colinas to salvage a 68 and was in a large group at 134.

Defending champion Vijay Singh also made a nice recovery with birdies on three of his last four holes at Cottonwood Valley. He finished with a 67 and was at 135, only three shots out of the lead.

PGA Tour

BYRON NELSON

Friday

At TPC at Four Seasons Resort

Yardage: 7,016; Par: 70 (35-35)

At Cottonwood Valley Course

Yardage: 6,847; Par: 70 (34-36)

Irving, Texas

Purse: $5.8 million

Second Round leaders

Tiger Woods	65-67-132
Mark O'Meara	67-66-133
Sergio Garcia	66-68-134
Daniel Chopra	66-68-134
Jerry Kelly	66-68-134
Jonathan Byrd	67-67-134
Peter Lonard	64-70-134
Stephen Leaney	66-69-135
Shaun Micheel	67-68-135
Vijay Singh	68-67-135
Greg Chalmers	68-68-136
Robert Allenby	69-67-136
Dudley Hart	65-71-136
Robert Damron	67-69-136
Kevin Durkin	66-70-136
Deane Pappas	67-69-136
Brandt Snedeker	70-66-136

LPGA TOUR: Lorena Ochoa gets a second chance to play as a co-leader. Ochoa shot a 5-under 67 and shared a one-stroke lead with Pat Hurst in the weather-delayed second round of the Franklin American Mortgage championship in Franklin, Tenn.

Play was called because of darkness with 19 golfers still on the course. Last week, Ochoa finished tied for second, two behind winner Se Ri Pak despite sharing the third-round lead at the Michelob Ultra Open. Ochoa learned she must be aggressive instead of cautiously protecting of her lead.

"I need to try and go for it, go straight for the pin and make a lot of birdies out there. Last week, I played a little bit too conservatively in the last round," said Ochoa, the 2003 rookie of the year who is looking for her first career victory.

"You've got to play good yourself and not wait for others to make mistakes, so I just need to be confident with my game and be aggressive.

LPGA Tour

FRANKLIN AMERICAN MORTGAGE

Friday

At The Legends Club

Franklin, Tenn.

Purse: $900,000

Yardage: 6,458; Par: 72

Partial Second Round leaders

Note: Play suspended due to darkness with 16 players left on the course. The round will be completed Saturday morning at 7:45 a.m. EDT.

Lorena Ochoa	70-67-137
Pat Hurst	68-69-137
Dorothy Delasin	71-67-138
Wendy Ward	68-70-138
Nancy Scranton	66-72-138
Wendy Doolan	69-70-139
Stacy Prammanasudh	67-72-139
Becky Morgan	73-67-140
Gloria Park	69-71-140
Marlene Hedblom	71-70-141
Angela Stanford	69-72-141
Lorie Kane	69-72-141
Mi-Hyun Kim	68-73-141