Tiger plays tricks with nuts

St Andrews - After a bogey-bogey start, an hour's delay caused by high winds and a resumption in equally tricky conditions, Sean O'Hair could have been forgiven for his slightly forlorn look on the fifth tee.

Then along came fellow American Tiger Woods.

The world number one finished the fourth hole before ambling over to the adjoining tee box where O'Hair was twiddling his thumbs, faced with yet another delay along with playing partners Ross Fisher of Britain and Japan's Yuta Ikeda.

The 14-times major winner promptly plonked himself down on the grass before pulling out a bag of smoked almonds which he playfully tossed at O'Hair's leg, then looked away.

Schoolyard prank or not, the pair are friendly and O'Hair was happy for the company.

"He was just trying to razz (tease) me a little bit. He's a good guy," O'Hair told Reuters after posting a level-par 72 for a five-under halfway total of 139, seven strokes adrift of leader Louis Oosthuizen.

"They kind of kicked me into gear," joked the 28-year-old.

O'Hair birdied the fifth before masterfully plotting his way around the links layout, carding one of only two birdies at the treacherous par-four 17th where a 'blind' drive must pass over a hotel.

"That tee shot is brutal. It's hard to trust it. It's hard to take it over that hotel and expect the wind to take it back," the triple U.S. PGA Tour winner said, relief etched all over his face.