THOUSANDS OAK, Calif., Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Fiji's Vijay Singh, who earned more than $3.4 million this year without winning a tournament, carded a 6-under 66 Friday to take a one-shot lead over Tiger Woods midway through the $3.8 million Williams Open.
Singh started the day tied for third with Woods and Scott Verplank, two shots behind first round co-leaders Mark O'Meara and Fred Couples.
Woods followed an opening round 68 with a 5-under 67 and is two strokes ahead of Germany's Bernhard Langer, who posted a 68 and is at 7-under 137 at the Sherwood Country Club.
Couples is tied for fourth at 138 with Sweden's Jesper Parnevik after settling for an even-par 72. O'Meara, Woods' friend and occasional practice partner, posted a 1-under 71 and slipped to a tie for seventh, six shots behind Singh.
Parnevik fired a 7-under 65 -- the lowest round of the tournament--and climbed from a tie for 14th.
The exclusive tournament is being held not far from where Woods grew up in Southern California and amounts to just a bit more than four rounds of practice. The highly competitive field is limited to 18 of the world's top players.
