ATLANTA - In the spring of 2000, just after yet another surgery on yet another crucial golfing joint, a surgeon sat Bart Bryant down and leveled with him.
"Know how to do anything else?" the surgeon asked.
It's days such as Thursday and Friday that make him glad his answer was no.
Bryant, who's had surgery on both elbows and his right shoulder, played an up-and-down round of 2-under-par 68 on Friday, but did enough to cling to a piece of the Tour Championship lead through 36 holes at East Lake Golf Club.
Defending champ Retief Goosen is tied with Bryant at 10-under.
Tiger Woods, Ben Crane and Scott Verplank are three shots back entering the weekend.
Bryant should be pleased to be in his position, especially considering his past struggles, both mentally and physically.
The physical part was what he thought would cost him his livelihood about five years ago.
"It was kind of scary during that time, wondering if I was done," said Bryant, 42, who finally broke through with a win last year at San Antonio and again this past June at the Memorial in Ohio. "I guess I wasn't done."
He's not done with the surgeries, either. Pain in his left knee comes and goes. He's scheduled for an operation Tuesday.
Carrying a massive cardboard check and a trophy from Atlanta would probably help to ease pain a little.
On Friday, Bryant again blew through the easier front side, only to waste a five-shot lead with three bogeys in six holes. An eagle on No. 15 got him back into red numbers for the day.
Goosen hit just three fairways Friday, but hacked his way to 4-under 66.
"I scrambled well," said Goosen, who is 24-under par at East Lake in 10 rounds.
Woods also spent much of the day scrambling for pars.
Tiger is 7-under without the benefit of a single birdie on the course's par 5s.
"It's been frustrating," Woods said. "If I take care of the par 5s I'd be, I think, on top of the board."
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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