Tiger Woods charged up the leaderboard when the putts began falling on Friday. (Miralle/Getty Images)

And it wasn't because his surgically repaired knee was complaining after he walked 18 holes at Torrey Pines, either.

Tiger Woods was just trying to get back to even par Friday, but wound up in even better shape. (Miralle/Getty Images)

Woods thru 36 Holes

At the U.S. Open

Year Rd. 2 Finish 2008 19 N/A 2007 13 T2 2006 82 MC 2005 7 2 2004 18 T17 2003 5 T20 2002 1 1 2001 43 T12 2000 1 1 1999 4 T3 1998 38 T18 1997 9 T19 1996 56 T82 1995 WD DNF

No, Woods' beloved Los Angeles Lakers squandered a 24-point lead in the second half to give the Boston Celtics a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

"Man, it was a tough night," Woods said, his megawatt smile morphing into a slight grimace. "It was a tough, tough night. But that's also sports. Welcome to sports. Basketball is a game of runs."

Golf is, too, though, as Woods went out and demonstrated once again on Friday during the second round of the U.S. Open.

The world No. 1 had returned to competition after a two-month layoff and played his first 27 holes -- on a course where he'd won six PGA TOUR events -- in a lackluster 3 over. That was before the real Tiger Woods made his presence known, though.

The great one wearing green -- just like the Celtics -- roared into contention with a sizzling 30 on the front (his second) nine that left him one stroke off the lead held by Stuart Appleby. He's tied with Rocco Mediate and Robert Karlsson at 2 under after Friday's 68.

"What you always see in the majors is that Tiger finds a way to put himself right there," Hank Haney, Woods' swing coach, said. "He's swinging well. He looks great."

Suddenly, the 108th U.S. Open had drama -- and the excitement that was missing from the supergroup pairing of Woods, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott, who rank Nos. 2 and 3 in the world, respectively. Mickelson and Scott will start the third round well back at 4 over.

"We all went our own little runs, but in different times," Woods admitted. "We struggled at different times, and we went on our birdie runs at different times. So it was never ... a shot for shot."

Woods would have been pretty hard to match over his final nine holes, anyway. He seized the momentum when he stood on the cart path at No. 1 in the shadow of a Torrey pine and hit an 8-iron that set up the first birdie, an 18-footer, in that spectacular run.

"Not only did I have a swing and a stance, I had a lie where I could control my distance," said Woods, who nonetheless winced when he hit the shot on the slippery concrete. " ... (My drop) would have been right behind the tree. No shot. (The risk) is part of the deal. That's part of wearing metal spikes, but I would much rather have had the lie."

He rolled in a 20-footer at the second hole and another from five feet farther on No. 4 to get to even for the tournament. The successful 18-footer at the fifth hole then put Woods under par for the first time since the 13th hole on Thursday.

Woods polished the round off by getting up and down from just behind the green at No. 9, a beast of a 612-yard par 5 where he made a 6-footer.

"I think Tiger's a good example of certainly not giving up," Appleby said in understatement.

And Woods, for his part, was typically understated.

"I didn't do anything," he said. "I actually just kept patient. I was trying to get back to even par for the tournament. ... All of a sudden, they started flying in from everywhere."

Truth be told, Woods had shown signs of life on the back nine, his first of the day, when he launched a high cut with his 5-wood to set up an eagle at the 614-yard 13th hole. He made the turn in frustration, though, after consecutive bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17, and a disappointing par 5 on the 18th.

So what changed on the front nine? Woods and his putter made nice, and he took advantage of nearly every opportunity.

"I didn't really hit it close," he reflected. "I just made some 15-, 20-footers and got on a roll that way."

Prior to coming to Torrey Pines, where he has won six Buick Invitationals, Woods talked about needing some time to get in the competitive flow. He had not played since finishing second at the Masters and didn't walk 18 holes until Thursday morning's tee time.

Two or three holes into his first round, though, Woods said he began to put things back on a competitive auto-pilot. He could control the distances. He shaped his shots. And by the time he made the turn, Woods was back to his old self -- even if his knee, which he deemed still sore, wasn't quite there.

"Whether you call it the zone or not, it just feels it's a nice rhythm," Woods said. "(I've) been there before. ... But today I was just trying to get back to even par, to be honest with you.

"That's all I was trying to do. And I just happened to make a couple more putts. That's about it."

The Lakers should be so lucky.