For all its brilliance, there was the slightest whiff of anticlimax in the scorching Tulsa air following the defending champion's second round of 63. On the one hand, Woods had surged out of the shadows to take the 36-hole lead which precedent says he is unlikely to relinquish, while on the other, he had failed to become the first player ever to shoot a 62 in a major championship. "I hit it a little bit firm and I thought I'd made it, " he said of the 15-foot putt.

"I knew it broke a lot more at the end than at the beginning. Started diving. Evidently didn't want to go in."

Woods played down his brush with the record, insisting that a three-shot advantage going into the weekend, rather than two, was always going to be more important than the glow of a first 62.

But you could see it rankled.

There is a sense here as the final major of the season unfolds that Woods is on a mission. Much more so than at Carnoustie where there was little or no cutting edge to his game, and more than at the US Open where he might have been sidetracked by the impending birth of his daughter. He doesn't need to be reminded that Southern Hills is the year's last-chance saloon for the elite players whose raison d'etre is the accumulation of major titles.

After runner-up finishes at the Masters and at Oakmont, as well as the disappointment of his British Open display, this could be the first season since a blank 2004 that he has failed to chip away at Jack Nicklaus's total of 18 championships.

Extraordinarily, on the back of his eight-stroke victory at last week's WGC event in Ohio, there was speculation the narrow, tree-lined Southern Hills wouldn't be to Woods's liking. All this was on the spurious premise that he had finished in 12th place here at the US Open in 2001 and in 21st place at the Tour Championship as far back as 1996.

Woods kept his patience when he was reminded of this on Friday. "I was 12th in the US Open, it's not really that bad, and my dad had a heart attack and was in hospital in '96, so those are my two appearances." Even before the sublime 63, Jim Furyk raised his eyes to heaven when asked if Southern Hills was somehow set up to tame Woods. "You can't Tigerproof a golf course, " he said.

"He's the best. So what are you going to do?"

Although Woods's opening 71 was upstaged by Graeme Storm's 65 and an even more unexpected 67 from John Daly, he suggested that he had struck the ball far better than his score had suggested.

By Friday evening, he had been vindicated. After making a seven-under par round look relatively easy, the ripple effects quickly spread through the chasing pack.

Woods has never lost a major after holding the lead at the midway point, and all six past winners of majors here at Southern Hills have had at least a share of the 36-hole lead. "You can't think or believe that it's over, " said Ernie Els. "I want to believe it's not. We all know he's the number one and he's on form.

That's kind of dangerous."

However, last year's US Open champion, Geoff Oglivy, was somewhat more defiant. "You know you have to play well.

He's the best front runner in history. Probably. He does pretty well when he leads for two rounds, and even better when he leads for three, so I guess that is kind of ominous.

But at some point he's not going to win."

That point seems unlikely to occur this evening. For all the talk about Southern Hills as a course that would frustrate Woods, both the venue and the conditions have played into his hands. So much so, that despite the disparity between the venues, his performance here already echoes the brilliance of last year's strategic British Open triumph at Hoylake.

With his two iron often travelling 300 yards, and his four iron nearly 240 yards in the hot air, Woods has not had to resort to hitting his driver as often as had been anticipated. During Friday's exhibition, he only used the driver, which has been his undoing in the past. "The ball's just going a long way, " he added. "It's so hot and sometimes we're getting the right wind." In fact, not counting par-three holes, Woods was able to hit tee shots with his three wood, two iron, three iron, four iron and five iron.

"He doesn't have to hit a driver on this course, " said Arron Oberholser. "That's the big key." Equally, with the temperatures set to rise once again over the 100 degree mark today, there is no one better equipped than Woods to keep his focus in the heat.

After the high of the British Open, there might have been an excuse for Padraig Harrington to luxuriate in his achievement and not worry about producing another performance, but he was in contention going into yesterday's third round. So too was Paul McGinley, who has clearly gained in confidence over the past few weeks. While he has been stressing the amount of practice he has done on the range, an alliance with Harrington's renowned sports psychologist, Bob Rotella, appears to have been a major factor in his return to form.

However, the Wanamaker Trophy engraver is preparing to add Tiger Woods's name for a fourth time. Fate may have kept that record-breaking putt out on Friday, but it now seems as if nothing can stop the march to a 13th major victory.