Furyk takes lead at BMW
Lake Forest, Ill. — Jim Furyk put his 59 behind him with a round that was 10 shots higher in the BMW Championship. All that mattered was having a chance to win, which made Saturday a success.
Furyk recovered from a sluggish start with three birdies in a five- hole stretch around the turn. A three-putt bogey from 30 feet on the par-5 18th forced him to settle for a 2-under 69 and a one-shot lead over Steve Stricker.
“The goal was to go out and shoot a good number today, get myself in position to win this golf tournament,” Furyk said. “It could have been better out there. ... Obviously, I dropped that shot at 18, which I’m disappointed. It was probably one of the easier holes of the day. But I’ve got myself in good position, so rather than harp on the last hole, I’d probably tend to want to think about tomorrow and what I have to do to try to win a golf tournament.”
It was a far different finish from Friday, when Furyk hit a wedge to 3 feet for birdie on his final hole (No. 9) for a 12-under 59, becoming only the sixth player in PGA Tour history to hit golf’s magic number.
No one expected another round like that from him — though Matt Kuchar had a 61 in the morningwhen conditions were calm — with firm fairways, fast greens and increasing wind. Three other players who had 59 in an earlier round followed with anything better than 68, but Furyk did enough to give himself another chance to end three years without a victory.