The second major golf championship of the year is almost at hand and yet Tiger Woods' game remains very much a work in progress, 10 strokes off the lead in his latest tournament.

Woods struggled at times but still salvaged a 3-under 69 in the second round of the Memorial Tournament. At 3-under 141, he easily made the cut.

"It was decent today. I hit more good shots today than I did yesterday, and I really putted well today," said the Memorial's only four-time winner. "It could have been a pretty good number."

That's the thing about Woods, playing for the first time after missing three weeks due to a neck injury. He could have shot a really low score, but he also could have done far worse. That's the way golf is when you've only played 11 competitive rounds all year.

He hit only five of 15 fairways and just 11 greens in regulation. He took only 26 putts, though, including several par putts beyond tap-in distance.

While most pros would have retired to the range for some work with their coach, that's not an option for Woods. He and his swing coach since 2004, Hank Haney, went their separate ways last month.

Woods says he's trying to work things out on his own. No one in the game is more closely attuned to his swing than Woods. On top of that, he has a trove of videotapes to check past form.

Remember, this is a guy who rebuilt his swing after dominating the game in 2000 like no one ever has.

Steve Stricker, a good friend and No. 4 to Woods' No. 1 in the world golf rankings, played with Woods the first 36 holes of the Memorial.

"I think he's got a little ways to go yet," Stricker said of Woods' quest to regain the form that resulted in 14 major championships.

"I've seen him play some unbelievable golf; we all have. His ability to score is still very, very good - uncanny. But he's got some work to do and he would be the first to admit that. But I saw more improvement today. He's starting to hit shots, it seems, the way he wants to. He's not driving it very well yet, but that'll come."

Woods, who started on the 10th hole, birdied three of his first four holes coming to the reachable par-5 15th hole. He has won almost $4 million in his 11 trips to Muirfield Village Golf Club.

One huge reason for that windfall over the years is because Woods dominates the par 5s. But so far in this Memorial, that hasn't been the case. He's just 3-under on those eight par 5s.

Then there's the Tiger who makes something good out of something bad. At the par-5 seventh, Woods sailed a drive into the trees - closer to the backyard of a million-dollar home than to the fairway. After his mammoth gallery made room for a recovery shot, he stung a long iron from the deep rough 195 yards to the fairway, leaving him a wedge to the green. Then he rolled in the 15-foot birdie putt.