PGA Championship winner Vijay Singh of Fiji recovered from a poor start, including a triple bogey, to remain ahead midway through the four million-dollar Tour Championship in Atlanta, Georgia yesterday.

Singh followed a record-matching 63 in the first round with an even-par 70 in the second to stand seven-under on 133 - two strokes ahead of second placed Jim Furyk, three better than Hal Sutton and four ahead of Tom Lehman.

No other rival is under par or within seven strokes of Singh, still the man to beat for the $720,000 dollar first prize despite being five-over par for the round after his first four holes.

Singh birdied four of his final seven holes.

Tiger Woods, who has yet to manage a birdie, fell to last in the 30-man field with a 76 which left him at 11-over 151.

Singh had stormed to a three-shot lead in the first round after firing his seven-under-par 63. Singh's 63 matched the 18-hole tournament record, recorded twice by Wayne Levi, at Harbour Town (1989) and Champions Golf Club (1990), and by Jim Gallagher Jr at Olympic (1993).

"Ball-striking wise, it's the best I've hit from tee to green all year," said Singh, who also won the Sprint International this year and is third on the money list with more than $1.8 million. "I hit everything down the middle of the fairway and to the green. It was a fun round to watch."

The event matches the top 30 money winners from this year on the US PGA Tour, which concludes its season after tomorrow's final round.

Most top players are entered in special made-for-television events in November and December that are not tour sanctioned, such as Greg Norman's Shark Shootout.