Second-round winners and losers

— --

Jack Nicklaus

Does it really matter that he missed the cut by a couple of shots? Not to the tens of thousands who jammed the bleachers and seats around 18 to watch Jack make his final walk, or to the millions who watched on television. And this time, Nicklaus even got the ending just right. After missing a five-footer for birdie on his last hole at Augusta National in April, he hit an oh-so-appropriate running putt from the fairway to 14 feet and made the next for birdie. He's the greatest, by any measure, and by a lot. Tiger Woods

Thursday's round was marred by a couple of bogeys, at 13 and 16. Today, Woods made the outlook for the rest of the field a lot more grim, breezing to a 5-birdie, no-bogey 67. Woods hit 14 fairways and 15 greens in the light breeze, and was never in remote danger of making a bogey. It's fitting that Woods is taking control again this week, at the same time Nicklaus is signing off.

Tom Watson

It was an emotional two days for Watson, playing in the shadow of Nicklaus' final walk through a major championship. Watson gave the fans even more to see Friday, birdieing 14 and 16 to make the cut on the number at age 55. Brad Faxon

Faxon risked a wasted trip and came over to Scotland early to go through sectional qualifying. He got into the field on the number. Good karma like that gets repaid, and Faxon made six birdies on his way to a 66. He's tied for third place, five behind Woods.

Colin Montgomerie

As easy as it is to dislike Monty because of his seemingly perpetual scowl and all-too-frequent whining about gallery noise, you have to respect the record he has compiled, both on the European Tour and in the Ryder Cup. He really has been a magnificent player for more than 10 years, and he has a record that deserves a major championship attached to it. Normally, he'd be in fine position after his spectacular second-round 66, which included seven birdies and an eagle and put him at 7 under. But this year, he's four behind Woods -- which, at this point might has well be 40 behind. Golf can be cruel, eh?

Tino Schuster

The unknown German journeyman rolled in a pitch for eagle on the ninth to get to 8-under and three behind Woods. Then, oxygen started to get a little scarce. Schuster bogeyed 11, 12, 13 and 14, then made double on the nasty Road Hole. He finished at 2-under and tied for 39th. Still, playing the weekend is a bonus when you're ranked 739th in the world. Mark Hensby

Hensby started the day 5-under, but immediately went off the rails, making bogey on the first, triple on the second and triple on the fourth. After 13 pars and a birdie, he finished up at 77 and even par for the tournament. At least he'll be able to catch the earlier commuter flight out on Sunday night.

It's impressive to watch Woods play under such control, but it doesn't make for good drama. Woods was in a similar position in 2000, when Sunday was more of a coronation than a challenge from playing partner David Duval. Montgomerie and Woods will be paired tomorrow, and don't think Woods doesn't savor the chance to exact some Ryder Cup revenge. Monty is going to need another round like he played today to have any chance to get back in this, and he'll certainly have his share of rooters in the crowd. Woods has St. Andrews game planned down to the square foot, and he hasn't deviated from the script even a word. Tomorrow, a score like 69 would put the tournament out of reach. Take Woods out of the equation and you'd have a fascinating and exciting race at the halfway point. Seven players, including Vijay Singh, are tied at 6 under, and another five are tied at 5 under, including Fred Couples and Sergio Garcia. Luckily, the Royal & Ancient has some lovely parting gifts. Matthew Rudy is a senior writer for Golf Digest magazine.