Vijay Singh slid his visor back, ran his hand over his head and allowed a slight smile to show.

That might have been enough to answer the question about making three double bogeys at the Masters Tournament on Friday. He seemed as flabbergasted as everybody else.

"It's something that you don't really think about until, you know, probably after the round and you sit down and say, 'Wow, I made three doubles,'" Singh said. "That shows (why on) this golf course, it's so easy, if you make one mistake, it's so easy to drop one, two, maybe three shots here."

Singh was the leader at 5-under par heading into second round, but he was up and down more often than an elevator Friday. In addition to his double bogeys on Nos. 4, 5 and 13, he bogeyed 11 and birdied 1, 3, 6, 15 and 17.

His inconsistent round dropped the 2000 Masters champion into a tie for second at 3-under 141, three shots behind leader Chad Campbell, but Singh remained upbeat.

"It's better (Friday) than on Sunday, I guess," he said.

His desire to salvage the round and effort to overcome his poor shots impressed Masters rookie Arron Oberholser, who played with Singh and Henrik Stenson on Friday.

"He did a good job (to overcome the double bogeys)," Oberholser said. "That's what those guys do. He's won a jacket. He knows what this course can do to you, and he knows to stay patient. That's what I'll learn."

Singh's early birdies sent his score to 7 under, the best of the tournament through two rounds, but he quickly found trouble by hitting over the green and into the bushes on No. 4. He couldn't recover and two-putted.

"I should have finished with a bogey there," he said.

On the next hole, his 7-iron flew past the flag and into the backside bunker.

"I left it in the trap and couldn't get up and down," Singh said.

Other than the trio of double bogeys, Singh was pleased with his round on a gusty day. Sure, he would have liked to finished with a better score, but he'll take his 74, especially as he's only three shots off the lead.

"You know, it wasn't a bad round," Singh said. "If I had just gone out there and not made any doubles and just made two bogeys or three bogeys and a birdie, 74 would not have looked that bad. You know, if you look at it that way, then it's not a bad round."

Singh has been playing well this year, even though he hasn't won a tournament. He's been remarkably consistent at the Masters, finishing in the top seven for four consecutive years.

"I'm swinging really good," he said. "When I started the week over here practicing, I didn't feel very comfortable, but I knew what I was working on. (On Friday) I thought I felt the best on my golf swing. I drove the ball beautifully. I'm pretty pleased with that part of it."

As for the rest of the day: "I just need to forget about (Friday's) round and go out there (today) and Sunday and see if I can make up some ground."