Leonard - joint leader (Getty Images)

Darren Clarke overcame an almost comical error to stay right in the thick of things at the USPGA Championship at Whistling Straits - as Tiger Woods summoned up a brilliant finish just to survive the halfway cut.

Clarke, one ahead after his opening 65, ran up a double-bogey seven on the long 11th - his second - when he aimed at the wrong television tower in the distance.

The Ulsterman blamed himself and not caddie Billy Foster. ``We had gone through it in practice and I had completely forgotten,'' he said.

Clarke needed two attempts to get out of sand, but came back to score a one-under-par 71 - it included a putt he estimated at 100 feet on the treacherous short seventh - and will go into the weekend on eight under par.

Out in front on nine under were playing partner Justin Leonard and also world number three Vijay Singh, while alongside Clarke was world number two Ernie Els and little-known American Briny Baird.

Woods was perilously placed at three over with six to play, the cut mark being one over, but he birdied the 13th, two-putted the long 16th for another and then rolled in a 20-footer at the short 17th.

A par at the last for a 69, six strokes better than his first round effort, preserved his record of over 150 events worldwide without missing a halfway cut, a run that goes back seven years.

If he failed it would also have been the first time in his professional career that a major would enter the weekend without him around.

Leonard, Open champion at Troon in 1997, added a 69 to his opening 66, while Singh, now with no chance of going top of the world rankings with Woods surviving the cut, posted a 68 to join him.

Els, who could end Woods' record-equalling five-year reign if he wins or even finishes second, had resumed with three birdies in his first five holes and when he added another on the 10th he was two clear at 10 under. But after pulling his next drive he came up short of the green with his third and could not get up and down.

The South African, of course, is desperate to make up for the disappointments of a season which with a round to go could have seen him win all three majors. He lost the Masters to Phil Mickelson by one in a thrilling shoot-out, collapsed to a closing 80 at the US Open and lost a play-off to Todd Hamilton in the Open last month.

Padraig Harrington, partnering Els, and Luke Donald both got to six under, but then slipped back to five under and four under respectively, while Mickelson - first, second and third in the opening three majors of the year - also got to six under, but then had a double bogey and two bogeys before closing with a birdie to stand three under.

Earlier in the day Nick Faldo, preparing himself for a quieter life, suddenly charged into contention and then gave himself a mountain to climb again.

What had threatened to be the worst season of Faldo's long career in the majors took on a different complexion when he grabbed five birdies in his second round and climbed from 40th to joint fifth.

But the 47-year-old, who missed the halfway cut in the Masters, United States Open and Open, then bogeyed the final three holes for what was ultimately a desperately disappointing 70.

``It was disappointing, but it was good to get to five under in the first place,'' he said. ``The seventh and eighth are brutal holes, but it was a bad bogey on nine.'' He bunkered his approach there.

As far as next month's Ryder Cup is concerned this is a virtual do-or-die effort from him, but he is thinking more long-term than that and planning more time with his one-year-old daughter.

``I know where I would rather be - on the floor playing with the toys,'' he commented. ``I am going to have a breather and need to think about what I am going to do for the next five or six years.

``I still want to do a bit of everything, but I am going to be playing less.''

Paul McGinley, hero of the Ryder Cup victory two years ago and desperate to make the team again, was another to drop back. He reached four under as well, but then bogeyed the seventh and eighth and had a double bogey on the 361-yard 10th.

He did not let the slide continue, however, and with a 74 finished on the same one under mark as Scotland's Scott Drummond, the shock Volvo PGA winner playing with a local club professional as a marker after the withdrawals of playing partners Dudley Hart and Frank Lickliter with back trouble.

One further back is David Howell, while Colin Montgomerie, currently needing a wild card to be part of the European side once more, and Ian Poulter, dressed in plus fours this time after his bizarre Stars and Stripes trousers of the first day, got up and down from sand to squeeze through right on the mark as well.

Paul Casey was through with shots to spare until he triple-bogeyed the ninth, his last. He bowed out by one as a result.

Justin Rose missed out on three over, dropping three strokes in the last three holes, and was in no mood to talk afterwards.

He even had to repair the ninth green after tossing his putter back to his bag.

Clarke bogeyed again at the difficult eighth and then missed an eight-foot chance on the last.

He was round in 71 and one behind Leonard, whose 69 left him alone in front as Singh bogeyed the 15th.

Clarke said: "After the double bogey I tried not to get too aggressive, then got it going a bit and then made a couple of mistakes.

"I certainly didn't expect at the start of the week to see so many players under par - and I am very pleased with the score I am on."

Woods knew the 16th was an opportunity to get to the vital one over mark - and he almost did better. On in two his 35-foot eagle putt ran just past the edge.

He made the three-footer back, though, and so required two closing pars.

Round of the day was a 65 from Miguel Angel Jimenez to get to three under and joint 14th - the same as Brian Davis - but Sergio Garcia missed a five-footer on the last to miss by one and Lee Westwood, fourth in the Open last month, bogeyed the 18th as well for two over and an early exit.

Collated second-round totals (USA unless stated):

135 Justin Leonard 66 69, Vijay Singh (Fij) 67 68

136 Briny Baird 67 69, Darren Clarke (Gbr) 65 71, Ernie Els (Rsa) 66 70

139 Chris Riley 69 70, Stephen Ames (Can) 68 71, KJ Choi (Kor) 68 71, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 68 71

140 Luke Donald (Gbr) 67 73, Jay Haas 68 72, Loren Roberts 68 72

141 Robert Allenby (Aus) 71 70, Pat Sheehan 70 71, Phil Mickelson 69 72, Bob Tway 71 70, Charles Howell 70 71, Duffy Waldorf 69 72, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 68 73

142 Rod Pampling (Aus) 73 69, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 72 70, Nick Faldo (Gbr) 72 70, JL Lewis 73 69, Adam Scott (Aus) 71 71

143 Chip Sullivan 72 71, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 72 71, Mark Hensby (Aus) 74 69, Chad Campbell 73 70, Paul McGinley (Ire) 69 74, Tommy Armour 72 71, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 68 75, Brett Quigley 74 69, Scott Drummond (Gbr) 71 72, Hidemichi Tanaka (Jpn) 72 71, Joe Ogilvie 75 68, Stewart Cink 73 70

144 David Toms 72 72, Shingo Katayama (Jpn) 74 70, Carlos Franco (Par) 69 75, Michael Campbell (Nzl) 71 73, Ben Crane 70 74, Arron Oberholser 73 71, Jeff Sluman 72 72, Bernhard Langer (Ger) 74 70, David Howell (Gbr) 72 72, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 73 71, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 75 69, Tiger Woods 75 69

145 SK Ho (Kor) 72 73, Jeff Coston 77 68, Craig Parry (Aus) 70 75, Zach Johnson 75 70, Shaun Micheel 77 68, Paul Azinger 74 71, Colin Montgomerie (Gbr) 73 72, Todd Hamilton 72 73, Skip Kendall 72 73, Eduardo Romero (Arg) 72 73, Robert Gamez 72 73, Woody Austin 74 71, Bo Van Pelt 74 71, Tom Byrum 72 73, Ian Poulter (Gbr) 73 72

146 Tim Petrovic 68 78, Jonathan Byrd 73 73, Hale Irwin 73 73, Kevin Sutherland 74 72, Fred Funk 74 72, Brian Bateman 73 73, Peter Lonard (Aus) 74 72, Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa) 70 76, Joe Durant 71 75, Thomas Levet (Fra) 74 72, Mike Weir (Can) 73 73, Alex Cejka (Ger) 75 71, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 74 72, Rocco Mediate 74 72, Heath Slocum 74 72, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 73 73, Paul Casey (Gbr) 74 72

147 Tom Pernice 75 72, Justin Rose (Rsa) 73 74, Hal Sutton 73 74, Jesper Parnevik (Swe) 76 71, Quinn Griffing 76 71, Bill Britton 77 70, Ted Purdy 73 74, Stephen Leaney (Aus) 74 73

148 Davis Love 79 69, Brenden Pappas (Rsa) 74 74, Mark Brooks 73 75, Kirk Triplett 77 71, Zane Zwenke 72 76, Tim Clark (Rsa) 75 73, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 75 73, Scott McCarron 70 78, Mark Calcavecchia 72 76, Joey Sindelar 71 77

149 Mark O'Meara 73 76, Harrison Frazar 72 77, Tim Fleming 76 73, Kenny Perry 76 73

150 Angel Cabrera (Arg) 74 76, John Huston 71 79

151 Alan Schulte 75 76, Rich Beem 78 73, Mike Small 75 76

152 Graeme McDowell (Gbr) 77 75

153 Ian Woosnam (Gbr) 79 74, Jerry Kelly 76 77, Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 78 75, Steve Schneiter 75 78, Billy Andrade 74 79

154 Bruce Smith 77 77, Steve Lowery 80 74, Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Jpn) 80 74, Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 81 73

155 Ron Philo 76 79, Jonathan Kaye 74 81, Bob Sowards 78 77

156 JR Roth 79 77, Robert Thompson 77 79, Tim Herron 77 79

157 Mike Baker 80 77

158 Thongchai Jaidee (Thai) 80 78, David Duval 77 81

159 Sean English 75 84

160 Jeffrey Lankford 77 83

Withdrew Frank Lickliter