LEMONT, Ill. – Honestly, it could have been better.

He hit good putts that didn’t go in. He hit bad putts that weren’t even close. He didn’t get it up and down from the bunker at No. 16. And, well, after making birdies on four of his first six holes, he cooled off. Way off.

And still shot 67.

Yes, there’s work to do. Then again, there always is.

Just not the kind of “combo-platter” that sent Tiger Woods and Hank Haney to the range until near dark Thursday afternoon.

“We had to organize a whole bunch of different things,’’ Woods said Friday afternoon. “If I do this, it leads to that, that, that. I just needed to keep progressing and had to get everything organized, and I did that, which is really nice.

“Today I drove it great, hit my irons better not great but better, and I didn't really make anything on my back nine.

Ah, the world of the best player in the universe. A little of this with that and a good night’s sleep later, Woods assured himself he’d be around for the weekend here at Cog Hill. And, perhaps, a run at his fourth -- and the final -- Cialis Western Open title.

“I'm going to have to shoot a low weekend,’’ Woods said as he settled in at 3 under, seven shots off the pace set by Daniel Chopra. “There's too many guys. With that many guys, they're going to make birdies.

“The golf course is soft. Even the wind is blowing a little bit, the golf course is still soft. Being this hot out, the ball flies for miles. I'm hitting drives that I normally don't hit that far.’’

Maybe not. But that’s not the news. What is? That it’s headed where he’s aiming.

“At least I'm hitting the ball better,’’ he said, “so I'm pretty excited.’’

Well enough that three of his early birdies were within 3 feet. Two others were inside 16 feet. “Overall I felt like I put myself in position off the tees to give myself some aggressive runs,’’ he said.

Three birdies in a row from the 13th through the 15th. Chances around that. A putter that wouldn’t cooperate.

“You'd much rather hit the ball well and not putt well because at least it's pretty easy,’’ he said. “You're not struggling for pars. I had a lot of kick ins today for pars. It's pretty stress free when you do it that way.

“If it ever gets rolling, you make two, three, four in a row, you turn basically a 4, 5, 6 under-par round pretty easily.’’

Just like that. Just like telling us Thursday night he knew what was wrong. All Woods needed to do was go to the range and work it out. Didn’t believe him? You might want to start.

Yes, he missed his first cut as a professional at a major two weeks ago, but he wasn’t about to mss two cuts in a row. Not when he could see what was wrong.

As for Friday? Hot start, cool finish. Maybe he can point back to the bogey at No. 16 -- his seventh hole of the day.

Tiger Woods made five birdies on Friday. (Cohen/WireImage)

“I hit it right in the middle of the fairway and hit a wedge too hard,’’ he said. “The wind was coming off the left at the time, and I didn't get it up and down.’’

Bottom line, though? He’s in the field for the weekend and, well, anything can happen. It’s just a matter of keeping that combo platter balanced so it doesn’t get out of whack like it did Thursday.

“If I didn't do a couple things right, I couldn't do the next couple,’’ he said, reflecting on Thursday. “That's why it took me so long on the range, because I had to groove a couple things in before I could move on.”

To a 67 and a chance going into the weekend.

“It wasn't great,’’ he said, “but I'll go do some work on that right now and get a little bit organized for tomorrow.’’

Remember, it could have been better. So, don’t say you haven’t been warned.