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 its 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 wasnt 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 much tougher than a lot of people expected. Asked if he liked his chances, Woods didnt hesitate to answer, "Yes." Woods had some issues on a day that began for him in the early morning and didnt finish until mid-afternoon. He missed some putts he might ordinarily expect to make, barely moved a chip a few inches forward, and guessed wrong on a couple of shots. But thats U.S. Open golf, and the best player in the world stood at 3-over 143 after two rounds — the same as playing partner and budding buddy Rory McIlroy. "I just made a couple of mistakes out there today, but I really played well," Woods said. "Maybe I could have gotten one or two more out of it, but it was a pretty good day." The night before, Woods underwent some treatment on his left elbow, which he shook several times after hitting bad shots in the first 11 holes of a rain-delayed round. He said he hurt the elbow at the Players Championship and that it was painful at times, though on his good shots it didnt seem to bother him at all. "It is what it is," Woods said. McIlroy said he didnt even notice Woods was having difficulty with the elbow. "I havent seen anything wrong with him," McIlroy said after finishing with his own 73-70. More worrisome than the elbow for Woods might be the fact hes never won a tournament after playing over par for the first two rounds. Hes also never won a major championship coming from behind in the final round. And then theres that winless streak in major championships that now stretches back to the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. But while Woods remains stuck at 14 in his chase of the record of 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, it doesnt mean hes forgotten how to win in conditions favoured at the Open. "Just keep grinding," he said. "You dont ever k now what the winning score is going to be. You dont know if the guys are going to come back. We have a long way to go, and these conditions arent going to get any easier." The conditions Friday were challenging enough, though Woods and McIlroy got the better of the weather. For the most part, they avoided winds that started to pick up in the afternoon as the rain-saturated course began drying out. The two are the main golf stars for Nike and have become increasingly friendly over the past few years, though they are 13 years apart in age. Woods has 12 more major titles than McIlroy, but the star from Northern Ireland has won his two during Woods winless drought. McIlroy said he and Woods chatted during the round, though both tried to keep focused on the task at hand. After missing a final birdie putt on their last hole, the 10th, McIlroy told Woods that he was trying to make the putt so he didnt have to play with Woods on Saturday. "So hes got the pleasure of playing with me," McIlroy said. "But, no, we had a good laugh out there and just because its the U.S. Open doesnt mean anything." McIlroy, the 2011 Open champion at Congressional who has struggled this year after switching to Nike equipment, had his moments, including an iron shot to the eighth hole that gave him a tap-in birdie and put him under par for the day. But he gave it back on the next hole and had to hit a great shot out of the deep rough on his final hole to finish off his even par second round. The kind of challenge Merion has been so far was reflected in the score of both players. They made six birdies apiece during the first two rounds, but both also made nine bogeys — an average of one in every four holes. "It tests every aspect of your game," McIlroy said, referring to Merion. "Youve got to drive it well. Where these pins are, you got to hit great iron shots. You got to be very tactical. You got to be mentally really well there and have a good game plan." Like Woods, McIlroy was comfortable with where he was midway through the championship. "There were people talking about 62s and 63s at the start of the week and, I mean, I never saw that at all," he said. "I still think that something very little under par is going to win this week. If or if not that, around even par." Cheap NFL Jerseys .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. Cheap Jerseys Supply . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. http://www.cheapnfljerseysthrowback.com/ . 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It was claimed in several newspapers on Tuesday that the Spanish goalkeeper would be prepared to leave Old Trafford if Van Gaal was kept on as manager.One report stated that due to a deteriorating relationship with the manager, De Gea will delay a decision over whether to sign a contract extension which would tie him to United until 2021. But Sky Sports Spanish football expert Balague does not believe De Gea would adopt such a position, and feels he proved his loyalty in that regard when he continued to perform to a high standard despite the collapse of his move to Real Madrid last summer. Will David de Gea and Keylor Navas end up swapping places at Manchester United and Real Madrid this summer? It sounds so un-De Gea like, for a player to put a manager in that kind of position, he said.And especially when now that we are all hearing that the club want Van Gaal to stay for now.Of course it would be a way to force his [De Geas] way out for sure. But De Gea would not do that. DDavid de Geas proposed transfer to Real Madrid collapsed last summer When he has been in that position, when he has been asked to rebel against Manchester United, every time he has said no.dddddddddddd When he didnt manage to go to Madrid, he put his head down, didnt complain, started working and in a few weeks became the No 1 again.Balague does, however, believe Real Madrid are considering their options and could make an offer for De Gea in the summer. David de Gea tells Sky Sports Patrick Davison he is happy at Manchester United and wants to become a club hero The plan is Real Madrid are thinking about paying the money for De Gea - they are thinking about that.If they do that, they will want to sell Keylor Navas. Of course, Manchester United will then need a goalkeeper.There are still a lot of question marks, but I think that deal still may happen. I think De Gea will be considering going to Madrid.I feel Real let De Gea down in the summer. 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