Woods likes his chances at Open on weekend

ARDMORE, Pa. – History says Tiger Woods has little chance to win this U.S. Open. Not from behind, and certainly not with an elbow inflammation that seems to bother him most on his worst shots.

Woods says otherwise, and after a marathon stretch of play Friday that helped him creep into contention at Merion Golf Club it’s still possible he could be the one having the last say.

Trying to break a winless streak in major championships that now spans five full years, Woods played 25-plus holes in a respectable 1-over-par to move up the leaderboard on a day when many other players were going the other way.

It wasn’t good enough to get under par, or even crack the top 10. But he was just four shots back and in prime position to make a move on the weekend on an Open course that is playing tougher than expected.

Asked if he liked his chances, Woods didn’t hesitate to answer, “Yes.”

“Just keep grinding,” he said. “You don’t ever know what the winning score is going to be. You don’t know if the guys are going to come back. We have a long way to go, and these conditions aren’t going to get any easier.”