Firm, fast and fiery Muirfield continues to resemble a yellow brick road.

There will be a golfing wizard at the end of it but who it will be remains to be seen. Sticking great sums of cash on potential winners of these most unpredictable of contests can be as financially fruitless as investing in a company that builds canoes made out of Disprin but the 142nd Open Championship is beginning to take shape.

At the halfway stage, there is a pony-tail leading this particular tale but it's hard to ignore the rustling behind him. A Tiger is on the prowl again and Woods has got the rest of the field all peering cautiously about. Miguel Angel Jimenez, the hirsute, veteran Spaniard who is aiming to become the oldest winner in major history at the age of 49, continued to roll back the years with a level-par 71 that left him perched and puffing his cigar contentedly at the top of the leaderboard with a three-under 139.

It's desperately tight, though, and there is no sign that anybody is going to run away with this affair. Not on this course, anyway, where potential disaster lurks at every turn and the slippery greens can leave the best on their backsides.

Phil Mickelson, the Scottish Open champion who lies four of the pace, and Brandt Snedeker both four-putted the 16th, while Ryder Cup man Nicolas Colsaerts took six putts on the 15th as he made a sorry exit from the championship. Amid the chaos, Jimenez remained as solid as a rock, posting 14 pars, two birdies and just two bogeys on a largely damage-free card. The man known as The Mechanic for his love of fast cars keeps motoring along nicely.

Woods was also in fine form on another sizzling Scottish summer's day and the craft, allied to the graft, of his battling 71 on this most unforgiving of courses kept him right in the hunt. His two-under tally of 140 has him lurking in second place and poised to pounce.

Already, eager observers are leafing through the archives and comparing notes. They go back to 2006, the last time Woods won the Claret Jug, on the singed, frightfully quick Hoylake links.

At the halfway point of that particular championship, Woods had found 23 of the 28 fairways, 28 of the 36 greens in regulation and had taken 55 putts over the opening two rounds. Here in East Lothian, he's plonked his tee-shot on to 21 of the 28 fairways, found 24 of the 36 greens in regulation and totalled 57 putts. It's not a mirror image but it's close.

In 2006, Woods plotted his way around Hoylake's perils superbly and utilised his driver just once. At Muirfield, the considered, tip-toeing has been similar but the driver has not even made a guest appearance this time. "I've hit about eight or 10 drivers . . . on the range," he said with a mischevious grin.

In this arid land, Woods continues to reap a rich harvest. He rolled in a 12-footer for a birdie on the third but it was the composed way in which he ground out a score that impressed. One-over for the round through 11, Woods, who putted superbly throughout and launched majestically flighted irons for fun, covered the treacherous sequence of remaining holes in one-under, making great par saves on 14 and 15 before finishing with a flourish on the 18th and raising his putter in triumph as a 10-footer disappeared into the hole for a vital birdie.

The tactic, successful so far, will continue into the weekend. "Just continue plodding along, being patient and putting the ball in the right places," said Woods, as he strives for a first major since 2008 and a 15th overall. "We're not going to get a lot of opportunities but when I have had them, I've capitalised."

Graeme McDowell, who partnered Woods for the opening 36-holes and sits on the 146 mark after a 71, couldn't hold back his admiration. If he was a paying punter, the Northern Irishman would be elbowing and jostling for an autograph. "I said to him on the 18th, 'that was a clinic the last two days'," confessed McDowell, who played alone with Woods after the third member of the group, Louis Oosthuizen, withdrew on Thursday due to an injury.

"It's very difficult to focus on your own game when you're watching the best player maybe ever. With Louis pulling out it cranked up the intensity level. I like playing with Tiger but the only downfall is that you find yourself getting a little too full of admiration."

There was much to admire about Lee Westwood, the major bridesmaid who has operated largely under the radar this week, and his best-of-the-day equalling 68 thrust him into contention and left him in a tie for second with Woods, Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson.

Six birdies in 12 holes had Westwood racing along and, while he leaked shots at 13, 14 and 18 on a devilish run-in, the 40-year-old, who seems to have found a remedy to his long-standing putting woes, is perfectly positioned. The feel-good factor for English golf that was generated by Justin Rose's US Open win may be used in some quarters as a reason for a resurgence in hope and optimism but Westwood is very much his own man. "The fact I have contended in so many majors gives me enough confidence," he said. "I was pleased with Justin's win but it didn't do too much for me."

Home hopes are well and truly alive as Martin Laird hoisted the saltire up among the frontrunners with a hard earned 71 for a 141. The Scot sits in a tie for sixth alongside overnight leader Zach Johnson, who spilled four shots on his last five holes in a 75, Spain's Rafael Cabrera Bello and the Masters runner-up Angel Cabrera, the Argentinian who had assumed command only to ship three shots on the closing five in a 72. Muirfield is that kind of course.