Rose (63) catches Furyk with big finish at Firestone
Justin Rose went 30 straight holes without making a birdie. He made up for it in a big way Saturday at the Bridgestone Invitational with a seven-under-par 63 that gave him a share of the lead with Jim Furyk going into the final round at Akron, Ohio.
The last bunch of birdies made for a quick change on the leaderboard. Rose was four shots behind with four holes to play when he made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 15th, hit wedge into three feet for birdie on the par-five 16th and closed out his best round ever at Firestone with a 40-foot birdie on the 18th.
Furyk finished with six pars, and he had to work for the last one. His tee shot landed in a sand-filled divot, and he punched it short of the green in the rough and then chipped long onto the fringe behind the f lag. But he rolled in that 12-foot putt for par and a 69 to join Rose at nine-under 201.
They were two shots ahead of Shane Lowry, who had a 67. Steve Bowditch also had a 63 and was in a group four shots behind that included Ian Poulter (65), Henrik Stenson (68) and Bubba Watson (69). Watson had a chance to get closer to the lead until he missed a short birdie putt on the 16th and dropped a shot on the next hole.
Masters and U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth, whose putting kept his 72 from being worse, finished with a double bogey to fall nine shots behind, all but assuring that Rory McIlroy will remain No. 1 going into the PGA Championship next week at Whistling Straits.
PGA Tour at Reno
J.J. Henry birdied the final hole to take a one-point lead in the Barracuda Championship, the PGA Tour’s only modified Stableford event.
Henry had a 41-point total at Montreux Golf and Country Club, scoring 17 points in the third round with nine birdies and a bogey. David Toms and Sweden’s Jonas Blixt were tied for second. The 48-year-old Toms had 10 birdies and two bogeys in an 18-point round.
Champions
Miguel Angel Jimenez eagled the par-five 18th hole to match the course record of nine-under 61 and tie Colin Montgomerie for the second-round lead in the Shaw Charity Classic at Calgary, Canada.
Jimenez matched Fred Couples’ course record set last year. The 51-year-old Spaniard made seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch in the middle of the round.
Montgomerie, the firstround leader after a 62, birdied the 18th for a 66 to join Jimenez at 12-under 128 at Canyon Meadows. The Scot had an eagle, five birdies and three bogeys.