In his roller coaster second round at The Open Championship, Tiger Woods shot an even-par 71, leaving himself in the same position where he started the day —2 strokes better than old man par.

But was it a really a roller coaster round for Woods, or is that just how golf fans feel watching the 14-time major champion try to win No. 15? With each swing, judgments are made to if he’s “back,” and if he’ll ever dominate again as he did circa 2000. Every shot is compared to his highlight reel of past championships, and every putt is questioned:

“Would the ‘old’ Tiger have missed that putt?”

After two pars to open his second round, Tiger birdied No. 3 after a slippery downhill 12-footer dripped inside the edge on the high side of the hole.

“He’s back,” we thought, or at least I did in my sleep-deprived state (I stayed up all night to watch him in Hawaii). Twitter and the blogosphere began quickly etching his name into the Claret Jug. But then he three-putted No. 4, a  par 3, for bogey.

“The old Tiger would have kept the early-round momentum. He’s just not the same anymore.”

A birdie on the next hole began another outburst of emotion from the tweeting public, citing fantastic bounce-back abilities and proving that every judgment passed on Tiger Woods is drastic—a gift and a curse of his greatness.

Woods made a few more bogeys throughout the round, sprinkling in spurts of horrendous distance control and par-saving brilliance, topped with a birdie on No. 18 with a 12-footer that rolled into the center of the cup.

Actually, was his distance control really that bad?  Or was it merely par for the bowling alley of a golf course? Tiger Woods has a certain way of making objectivity difficult, and subjectivity reign supreme.

Subjectively, Tiger has taken us on a roller coaster ride through two rounds at The Open. Objectively, he’s put together two rounds of monotony—a 138, 2-under total over two days at Muirfield. He has put the course to sleep, avoiding any wretched trouble, barring his debacle on the first tee shot of the championship and a stubbed chip shot on No. 6, also in Round 1.

However you feel about Tiger, he’s 2-under par at the Open through 36 holes, and in an ideal position for his 15^th career major championship.

Click here to see photos and specs of the clubs in Tiger’s bag at The Open Championship.