On-fire Furyk fights to keep Spieth at bay
All eyes are on Jordan spieth at the WGC- bridgestone Invitational as he seeks the victory which will see him replace Rory McIlroy as world No1.
but evergreen Jim Furyk stole the young man’s thunder last night as he looked to make amends for a number of near misses at Firestone Country Club.
The 45-year-old American carded a second consecutive 66 in Akron to set the clubhouse target on eight under par, five shots clear of playing partner Henrik stenson, Graeme McDowell and first-round leader Danny lee.
Furyk has recorded nine top-10 finishes in the event, including five in a row from its inception in 1999, and memorably lost a seven-hole play-off to Tiger Woods in 2001.
The world No 6 also squandered a one-shot lead with one hole to play in 2012, carding a double bogey from the middle of the 18th fairway to lose out by a shot to Keegan bradley.
Despite a fine opening round, Furyk received some tips from his father and coach Mike on Thursday before revealing: ‘I think I’ve found a way to get the ball in the hole.
‘I drove the ball better today but I definitely hit my share of poor golf shots. I just managed to put them in good spots and get up and down when I needed to. I also made a lot of birdies, I think 13 in two days, and that covers up some mistakes as well.’
stenson carded four birdies and three bogeys i n his 68, while McDowell could only add a second round of 71 to his opening 66 as he looked to improve on a poor season which has produced just one top-10 finish.
‘I started on the back nine and did not play very well, to be honest,’ said the Northern Irishman. ‘I didn’t hit many fairways and was scrambling and scrambling and hung in there incredibly well.
‘I hit it well on the second nine but made a silly six on the second when I was 25 feet away for eagle, putted it up and it came back off the green.’
lee Westwood, Justin Rose and double- major winner spieth were a shot behind McDowell on two under, spieth finishing his 68 in style with a birdie on the ninth thanks to a low, running approach from the rough to three feet.
Meanwhile, t he i njured McIlroy has offered another clue which suggests he plans to return from injury to defend his usPGA Championship title next week.
McIlroy, who suffered a ‘total rupture’ of ligaments in his left ankle during a game of football last month, has yet to say whether he will be able to compete at Whistling straits.
but yesterday he posted a picture on social media which appeared to show the inside of a private plane along with various emojis depicting a us flag, a thumbs-up symbol and a golf flag.
The on-board video screen suggests McIlroy was departing from Faro in Portugal, where the four-time major winner is understood to have been practising and the location for Thursday’s video of him hitting a driver on the range.
earlier this week, McIlroy posted a video on his Instagram account in which he was seen balancing on his left leg and twisting and throwing a gym ball to mimic the actions of the golf swing.
Alongside the short video clip, he wrote: ‘Working hard every day t o come back stronger #dontmindthegrind.’
He has also shared photographs of his ankle from four and three weeks ago, saying: ‘I’ve come a long way since.’
McIlroy will be replaced at the summit of the game by Masters an d us open c hampion spieth if t he 22-year-old American can win his first Wo rl d Golf Championship title this week.
It was at the same event that McIlroy overturned a threeshot deficit to Ryder Cup team-mate sergio Garcia in the final round 12 months ago to move back to the top of the rankings.
McIlroy’s last competitive round was a closing 66 in the us open at Chambers bay on June 21. The usPGA gets underway on August 13.