NEWPORT, Wales -- A troubled year for Tiger Woods has gotten a whole lot better at the Ryder Cup.
Teaming with Steve Stricker in what has become a formidable duo, Woods helped the Americans build a two-point lead over Europe on a busy Saturday at Celtic Manor.
After a seven-hour rain delay on the opening day threw the schedule out of whack, Woods and Stricker returned on a chilly morning to finish off a 2-up win over Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter in fourball.
After a quick break, it was right back to the first tee for an alternate-shot match with Miguel Jimenez and Peter Hanson.
That one was no contest. With Woods hitting pinpoint irons and Stricker making all the putts, the Americans romped to a 4-and-3 win.
The Americans also got plenty of key shots out of their Georgia Tech pairing, Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar. The duo squandered a lead in fourballs but held on to claim a half-point against Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell during the rain-delayed morning matches.
The teams faced each other again in alternate shot, and this time it was the Americans taking a full point when McIlroy's game collapsed over the final two holes. First, the 21-year-old McIlroy missed a 6-foot putt at No. 17 after Cink had holed a 30-foot birdie. Then, with an easy wedge over the water at 18, McIlroy watched his ball slide off the green into a back bunker, ensuring the U.S. a 6-4 lead heading into the third session.
Woods and Stricker were the only players to earn maximum points over the first two rounds, a heartening development for an American team that's trying to successfully defend the Cup for the first time since 1993.
In a sport individual at its core, Woods has always struggled to find a partner he could be comfortable with in the team setting. He's been paired with 11 other players in the Ryder Cup, including that ill-fated attempt at teaming up with rival Phil Mickelson in 2004, but all it produced was a record of 7-12-1 -- the major blemish on Woods' career record.
Then, at last year's Presidents Cup, Woods and Stricker were paired. They won all four of their matches, the first team in 30 years to do that in a major team competition.
Woods had finally found his man.
"His stroke is so good," Woods said. "It's fun to watch him. He's got that 'go-in' look."
The world's top-ranked player picked a good time for his first 2-0 start at a Ryder Cup. Not only did he boost the Americans' chances of keeping the trophy they won without him at Valhalla two years ago, he took some of the sting out of the troubles that began nearly a year ago.
His marriage and reputation crumbled with the revelation of numerous affairs, and he returned from a five-month layoff without his usual dominance on the course. He went winless in the majors this year -- he even failed to win a tournament of any kind -- and is in danger of losing his No. 1 ranking.
But he's smiling again in Wales.
"We're comfortable around one another. Our games complement each other nicely," Stricker said. "He hit some unbelievable iron shots and, fortunately, I've been hitting some putts."
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press