Eagle Earns Furyk Barclays Classic Lead

By

Posted 7:58PM on Friday, June 24, 2005

HARRISON, N.Y. (AP) -- Caddie Mike "Fluff" Cowan picked the club and fixed the ballmark. Jim Furyk took care of the rest. The 2003 U.S. Open champion holed out from 153 yards for an eagle 2 on the eighth hole - his 17th Friday - and finished with a par for a 2-under 69 and a one-stroke lead over Brian Gay after the second round of the Barclays Classic. "I was between 9-iron and 8-iron," Furyk said. "I wanted to hit the 9, but my caddie talked me out of it. After he told me what he thought the wind was doing and described the shot, I thought he was right." The nine-time PGA Tour winner, fully recovered from a wrist injury that sidelined him for most of the first half of last season, had an 8-under 134 total on the hilly, tree-lined Westchester Country Club course. He took a three-stroke lead into his morning round after opening with a 65 Thursday afternoon. Gay birdied three of the last five holes for a 66 Friday. "I'm very pleased," said Gay, the only afternoon starter in the top eight. "It was very tough out there. The greens are really getting baked out." Padraig Harrington (65), Len Mattiace (65), Kenny Perry (68), John Senden (67) and Hidemichi Tanaka (68) were tied for third at 6 under. "I think they set the pins up brutal for the first two rounds," said Perry, a two-time winner this year. "I've never seen them set up this tough. They seem to be more on the edges. ... It's a tough old girl. You got to watch what you're doing." Kevin Sutherland (68) was four strokes back at 4 under, and Vijay Singh (71) and Tom Pernice Jr. (69) were 3 under. Singh was in a much better mood Friday after criticizing tour officials Thursday for failing to enforce slow-play rules. "I feel good about my game," said Singh, the 1993 and 1995 winner. "Five shots on this golf course is nothing." Winless in 38 events since the 2003 Buick Open, Furyk tied for second in consecutive starts earlier this year - including a playoff loss to Singh in the Wachovia Championship. Furyk certainly appeared to be in winning form on No. 8, with his approach shot over the water landing about 8 feet short of the hole - cut 4 yards off the left edge - and falling in on the second bounce. "The ball started a little bit to the right of the pin and the wind blew it back on the pin," Furyk said. "It looked like it was going to be really tight. I was asking for it to get in there tight and it disappeared." The leaderboard-topping eagle came a hole after he was distracted twice by a man loudly clearing his throat near the seventh green. "Maybe he ate a hot dog too fast. It sounded like he had the whole thing stuck in his throat," Furyk said. "I wasn't rude. I just kind of said, `Hey, everything all right with the throat there? You got everything cleared?' "I don't who it was. If it was intentional, I wanted them to stop it. And if it wasn't intentional I wanted them to stop. I didn't care either way. Just give me a little peace and quiet." Furyk then calmly made his difficult bogey putt. "I had a 10-footer that was probably breaking 3 feet," he said. "I was aiming way right of the hole and ended up dying it right in the middle. That was probably the biggest putt of the day." Defending champion Sergio Garcia was 1 over after a 71. Also the 2001 winner, he shot a 72 on Thursday, ending his streak of par or better rounds in the event at 19. "I just couldn't make any putts," Garcia said. "It's just a matter of rolling a couple of putts in and getting some confidence." Corey Pavin shot a 64 - the best round of the day - after opening with a 77. He began the day tied for 124th and finished with a share of 18th at 1 under. Pavin had nine birdies and two bogeys Friday, and has birdied 11 of 20 holes after playing the first 16 on Thursday in 8 over. He opened with a 3 1/2-foot birdie putt on No. 10 after four-putting the hole from 4 feet for a triple-bogey 7 Thursday. "I was 8 over standing on the 17th tee yesterday, so I'm pretty pleased to be where I am right now," Pavin said. Divots:@ Dean Wilson, best known as one of Annika Sorenstam's playing partners in the 2003 Colonial, made a double eagle on No. 9, holing his 216-yard second shot with a 4-iron. The double eagle was the third in tournament history. Larry Ziegler had one on No. 12 in 1971 and Bob Gilder accomplished the feat on No. 18 in the third round of his 1982 victory. Wilson was 1 over after a 71. ... U.S. Amateur champion Ryan Moore made the cut by a stroke in his pro debut. The former UNLV player was 3 over after a 74. © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.