LAKE FOREST, Illinois: Jim Furyk put his 59 behind him with a round that was 10 shots higher in the BMW Championship on Saturday. Now all he wants is a trophy.
Furyk recovered from a sluggish start with three birdies in a five-hole span 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.
It was a far different finish from on 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 US 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 morning when conditions were calm — with firm fairways, fast greens and increasing wind. Furyk did enough to give himself another chance to end three years without a victory.
But his work is far from over.
He was at 13-under 200 and will be paired in the final group with longtime friend Stricker, who holed out for eagle from the 15th fairway and had a 64.
Brandt Snedeker, tied with Furyk to start the third round, got up-and-down from behind the 18th green for birdie to get back to even-par 71 for the day and remain in the hunt just two shots behind.
And very much in the picture was Tiger Woods, who made it through the day without any drama.
Woods still objected to the two-shot penalty he was given after his second round for his ball moving ever so slightly as he tried to remove a small stick next to it. And he played before a massive crowd with Sergio Garcia, their first time together since Garcia ended some verbal sparring by jokingly saying he would have Woods over for dinner during the US Open and serve him fried chicken.
In the suburbs north of Chicago, there was hardly any heckling beyond what is heard at a normal golf tournament in America.
Woods ran off six birdies in seven holes and at one point got within two shots of the lead until his momentum was stalled with a par on the par-5 14th and a bogey on the 15th hole after driving his first shot into the water. He still had a 66 and was only four shots behind.
“I had a nice little run,” Woods said.
Furyk takes 1-shot lead at BMW Championship
