"I'm able to get my ball count up"

While Mark Wilson and Matt Bettencourt are leading the Memorial, the focus is on all of the big names rounding into form for the U.S. Open.

Bob Harig reports that Tiger shed some new light on his knee breakdown last year.

A year ago, Woods was among the few who knew that his season was in peril. He had hoped to play the Memorial Tournament following arthroscopic knee surgery just two days after the Masters, but he learned a week before this tournament in 2008 that he had suffered stress fractures in his left leg.

"I practiced way too hard to get ready for this event," he said. "That's when I broke it."

Steve Elling says that Tiger's practices have been more limited than we originally thought:

Only in the past few weeks has Woods been able to bash balls as often as ever, because he didn't want to overstress the knee. He has only recently stopped icing the knee after rounds and instead has been able to adjourn to the range, where he can get post-round work done. Up until last month, he hadn't been able to practice after playing for two years because of his sore knee.

"I'm able to get my ball count up," he said.

Now maybe he can get his win count up, too.

Woods is gradually sneaking up on his standard form, having hit 35 of 42 fairways and 40 of 54 greens, which both rank in the top eight in the field. After starting the day tied for 24th, he moved up to a four-way tie for seventh in a group that includes Ernie Els.

Elling also reports on Geoff Ogilvy's amazing 63 Saturday after his dreadful performance Friday.

"Spend an hour taking out your aggression on a golf ball," he smiled. "It's quality alone time, Geoff time."

It might be Geoff time on Sunday night at this rate, when one Jack W. Nicklaus might be handing him a fat check and a shiny crystal trophy. Ogilvy, who won the U.S. Open three years ago, has already won the season-opener and match-play events, tying him with Zach Johnson and Phil Mickelson for most wins this season.

His results of late have been largely middling, though Friday skewed more toward largely maddening.

"I woke up on the wrong side of the bed," he said. "Everything was getting to me. One of those days."

He took the sour disposition to work, too.

"I don't like carrying on like I did at times yesterday," said Ogilvy, one of the brightest players on tour. "It must have looked silly."