Furyk surges to lead behind 9-under 63

Veteran 1 shot up in quest for first Tour victory since 2010.

In his first PGA Tour event in five months, Jim Furyk wasted no time giving himself a chance for his first win in more than four years.

Furyk made seven birdies over his last 10 holes at Pebble Beach on Saturday for a 9-under 63 to take a one-shot lead going into the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

He was at 18-under 197, one shot ahead of Matt Jones and Brandt Snedeker. Jones made six birdies in a seven-hole stretch and built a three-shot lead late in the glorious afternoon until he made bogey on his last two holes at Pebble Beach for a 67. Furyk caught up to him and then passed him with a wedge to a foot on the final hole.

Snedeker, who went 47 holes before making his first bogey of the tournament, made a 20-foot birdie putt on his final hole for a 67.

It was Furyk’s best round in two decades playing this tournament, and even he was mildly surprised. His last official tournament was the Tour Championship on Sept. 14 when he tied for second. He also played the Ryder Cup and filled in at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, but otherwise took one of the longest breaks of his career.

“I really didn’t know where I stood coming out here,” Furyk said. “I was going to be very patient and see where I was, and go play Pebble and L.A. and reassess and have the week off to get ready for Doral and Tampa. I guess I’m pleasantly surprised. I wouldn’t expect to be 18 under par after three days, I’ll promise you that. But also didn’t expect the weather to be like this either.”

The cut was 7-under 209, breaking the record of 4 under in 2005.

John Daly shot 73 at Spyglass Hill and missed the cut for the 11th straight time at this tournament dating to his rookie season in 1991.

Already a 16-time winner on the PGA Tour, a U.S. Open champion and a FedEx Cup titleholder, Furyk hasn’t won since the 2010 Tour Championship. That’s not to say he hasn’t had his chanc- es. He was a runner-up four times last year, and he has failed to convert the last eight PGA Tour events that he had at least a share of the 54-hole lead.

Champions Tour: Colin Montgomerie overcame a double bogey to shoot his second straight 6-under 66, holding onto a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the ACE Group Classic at TwinEagles Golf Club in Naples, Fla. Montgomerie birdied four of his last six holes and is at 12-under 132. Lee Janzen also had a double bogey but shot a 7-under 65 and is one back at 11 under.

Esteban Toledo and Scott Dunlap are at 8-under 136. Three other players are 7 under, including Bernhard Langer, who won five events in 2014.

European Tour: Scott Hend of Australia surged into the lead of the Thailand Classic by shooting a 6-under 66 in the third round despite a bogey on the last hole. Hend used his power to make five birdies and an eagle before his only mishap. His 15-under 201 total puts him one shot ahead of Miguel Angel Jimenez and local favorite Thongchai Jaidee.

Friday’s games Saturday’s Games ■ (At) Senators 7, Oilers 2: Milan Michalek had two goals and an assist, leading Ottawa over Edmonton. Kyle Turris, Cody Ceci, Alex Chiasson, Mike Hoffman and David Legwand also scored as the Senators matched their season high for goals. Robin Lehner, making his eighth straight start for Ottawa, stopped 25 shots. Derek Roy and Mark Fayne scored for Edmonton. ■ (At) Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 1 (SO): Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais scored in the shootout as Montreal defeated Toronto. Brendan Gallagher scored in regulation and Carey Price made 28 saves for the Canadiens, who have points in five straight games. ■ Jets 5, (at) Red Wings 4 (SO): Drew Stafford scored the only shootout goal to lift Winnipeg. His wrister got past Detroit’s Jimmy Howard in the fourth round of the tiebreaker, and Michael Hutchinson stopped Stephen Weiss on the ensuing attempt to seal the win. ■ (At) Islanders 6, Blue Jackets 3: Josh Bailey scored two goals in the first period, John Tavares had two goals and two assists, and New York fought off two rallies by Columbus. Tavares set up Bailey twice early and then gave the Islanders two- and threegoal leads in the third. The Islanders have won four straight and six of seven. Ryan Strome and Frans Nielsen also scored, and Jaroslav Halak made 34 saves. ■ Rangers 5, (at) Coyotes 1: Rick Nash scored his NHL-best 35th goal early in a four-goal third period as New York beat Arizona to give coach Alain Vigneault his 500th career win. Cam Talbot made 34 saves, including on Tobias Rieder’s third-period penalty shot, in the Rangers’third straight win. ■ (At) Wild 6, Hurricanes 3: Thomas Vanek had two goals and an assist while Devan Dubnyk stopped 24 shots to lift surging Minnesota past Carolina. The Wild nearly blew a three-goal lead during a sloppy second period, but held on for an eighth win in nine games. ■ Devils at Predators: Late ■ Stars at Avalanche: Late ■ Capitals at Kings: Late ■ Canucks at Flames: Late NHL notes ■ Stars: Dallas scoring leader Tyler Seguin will miss three to six weeks with a right knee injury sustained when he was checked below the waist on a hit teammate Vernon Fiddler called“gutless.”Seguin had to be helped off the ice Friday after being hit in the third period by Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who was ejected and is likely to be suspended. Fiddler said after Dallas’ 2-0 victory that it was“a gutless play ... and we’ll have to deal with that at a later time.” Seguin started the day third in the NHL with 59 points and tied for fourth with 29 goals.