Jean Van de Velde's 68 on Friday is the best round of the tournament.

Wait. There's more.

He is being chased by a Duck, a Tiger and a Shark. Right in the mix is that lava-eating Swede, Jesper Parnevik, who played with toilet paper crammed up his nose to keep it from dripping on his ball while he putted.

Maybe the sight of the blonde in a bikini top and G-string, who pranced onto the 18th green to kiss Tiger Woods late in the first round, was only a prelude to freaky Friday.

Most bizarre of all were the birdies -- a lot more than Thursday, but not enough to allow anyone to beat par after two rounds in wicked winds on the toughest links golf course in the world.

Determined not to repeat his collapse from the first round, Van de Velde made two birdies and two pars in the final four holes for a 68. He had a 1-over 143 for a one-stroke lead over Angel Cabrera (69), known as "The Duck" in Argentina.

Parnevik, who nearly walked off the course after six holes because of the worst hay fever attack of his life, stuck around for a 71 and was at 145. Woods, Greg Norman and Patrik Sjoland were another stroke back.

"I'm in good shape," Woods said after bogeys on two of the last three holes for a 72. Perhaps his best shot of the day was a wedge he hacked out of the greenside rough that went 15 feet off the putting surface.

The Shark wasn't immune to the insanity. Norman was 4-under for the day until taking a whiff from the rough on No. 17 on his way to a triple-bogey. He still managed a 70 and looks like he'll be a factor to win his third Claret Jug.

"I did what I wanted to do," Norman said. "I put myself in the position come weekend time."

Norman and Woods will be paired together Saturday for the first time in a major. Woods defeated Norman in a meaningless match in the Presidents Cup in December.

Seven players broke par, but 37 failed to break 80 -- down 20 from the previous day.

It was the first time a score over par led after 36 holes in a major championship since the 1974 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, where Ray Floyd, Hale Irwin, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer were all at 3-over 143.

Van de Velde's score was the highest in the British Open since the 144 posted by Brian Barnes, Tony Jacklin and Bob Charles in 1968 at Carnoustie, which was considerably shorter and played to a par-72.

It's not clear when the last time a 36-hole leader in the British Open was over par, because the Royal & Ancient didn't relate scores to par in the Open until 1964. The best estimate is 1931, when Henry Cotton and Jose Jurado had 147 at -- where else? -- Carnoustie.

"The golf course is going to penalize you, whether you hit good shots or bad shots," said Woods, who hit a little of both but played much better than his 72 indicated.

The cut was at 12-over 154, which knocked out defending champion Mark O'Meara and Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal (157), PGA champion Vijay Singh (161) and 19-year-old Sergio Garcia, who finished dead last at 172.

Sandy Lyle arrived at the 18th green waving his putter with a white glove stuck on the end. He had an 81.

David Duval (75) just made the cut, meaning he gets two more cracks at Carnoustie -- unless he decides he would be better off picking up a pot of boiling water with his bare fingers.

"I don't know what you can learn about your game," Duval said. "Obviously, I need to hit it a lot better than I did and make more putts."

He could learn from Van de Velde. The Frenchman was at even-par in the first round when he came to the 15th and went bogey-bogey-double bogey-par. He arrived there Friday at 1-under for the round, turned to his caddie and said, "Let's try to put four pars in the bag."

Van de Velde did much better than that. He hit a 6-iron about 260 yards on the par-3 16th and made a 45-footer for birdie, then hit a wedge into 3 feet on the last for birdie to take the lead.

The last Frenchman to win the Open was Errand Massy in 1907. Van de Velde has won just one European Tour event -- the Roma Masters in 1993 -- but sees no reason why he can't continue his fine play.

"There's always a first time," he said. "I know it's a major championship, but it's just a golf tournament."

"El Pato" doesn't know of anyone in his northern Argentina province who is called "El Tigre," but he's got one on his heels at Carnoustie. Woods struggled down the stretch for the second straight day but continued to play with remarkable poise.

"Even the bogeys I made, I hit good shots," Woods said. "There's nothing you can do about that."

Parnevik couldn't think of anything to do about his state of health -- hay fever, allergies, a headache.

"I had to time my putts and shots between sneezes," he said. "It was terrible."

He finally decided to stuff tissue up his nose. It looked goofy, but the son of Sweden's most famous comedian is known to eat volcanic sand to clean out his system. And remember, this is the guy with the funny hat.

Friday was a day to find laughter somewhere. It should turn more serious on the weekend as the Claret Jug comes into view.

The Americans have won the last four, and Woods appears to be their best hope to match the longest U.S. streak since 1930. He also happens to be the only American who hasn't complained too much about Carnoustie.

"I enjoy playing in terrible conditions because you have to be more creative," Woods said. "You have to use your repertoire of shots and not be afraid to go ahead and trust your instincts."