DUBLIN, Ohio — One last birdie for Jim Furyk put him one more stroke under par, which he found more gratifying than being in a share of the lead with Jonathan Byrd on Friday at the Memorial.
A blue sky and a warm sun translated into fast greens at Muirfield Village, leading to a crammed leaderboard going into a weekend loaded with possibilities.
Tiger Woods had his worst score in nearly two years — a 2-over 74 — and still was only six shots behind.
Furyk had two bogeys from the bunker on the back nine, but finished with an 8-iron that stopped on the top shelf about 8 feet away for birdie on the 18th that gave him a 2-under 70. He hasn’t been atop the leaderboard this deep into a tournament since winning the Canadian Open in 2007, his last PGA Tour victory.
Byrd had a bogey-free 68 in the morning, also making a birdie on the 18th.
They were at 7-under 137.
Asked how he felt about being tied for the lead, Furyk replied, “I’d rather be as many under par as possible.”
“I just want to go out there and play one more solid round tomorrow and hopefully sit in the same spot, and put myself in good position for Sunday’s round,” said Furyk, the 2002 Memorial winner. “I’ll just be jockeying for position and trying to play another good round.”
And he’ll have plenty of company.
Mike Weir (69) and Mark Wilson (70) were another shot back at 6-under 138. The top 16 players were separated by a mere three shots going into the weekend.
Open returning to Oakmont
The U.S. Open will return to Oakmont Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh in 2016, nine years after the national championship was last played there.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on its Web site Friday that the U.S. Open will make its ninth trip to Oakmont, which waited 13 years between 1994 and 2007 to play host to its most recent national championship.
Oakmont also was the U.S. Open site in 1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973 and 1983.
The USGA is expected to make the official announcement during the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y., later this month, the newspaper reported.
Golf
Birdie at No. 18 gives Furyk share of Memorial lead
- Golf
-
-
Bradley should be a lock for Presidents Cup
Until winning the PGA Championship, the coolest thing in golf that happened to Keegan Bradley during his amazing rookie season was getting a phone call from Fred Couples in May after he won his first PGA Tour event.
-
Gindlesberger leads Southern in opener
Billy Gindlesberger shot a one-over par 37 at Oakland Golf Club Tuesday to lead Southern to a season-opening tri-match win over Northern and Bishop Walsh in high school golf.
-
Those who know Woods’ game: He’s down, not out
The kid standing behind 15-year-old Tiger Woods on the tee at Torrey Pines was two years older and already a hotshot himself on Southern California’s rough-and-tumble amateur golf circuit the first time he saw the look.
-
Fowler part of 4-way tie as Woods falters
Rickie Fowler had eight birdies and an eagle to give himself another shot at winning. Adam Scott did well enough to stay in the lead. PGA Tour rookie Keegan Bradley got in on the action late.
-
Tiger Woods off to strong start
Tiger Woods appeared to face a big test Thursday in his return to golf.
-
Tiger back at full strength
Tiger Woods was on the practice range just as the sun began to rise Tuesday over Firestone, his first time on a PGA Tour golf course in nearly three months.
-
Browne still on top at Senior Open
Olin Browne followed a record-tying 64 with a solid 69 on Friday, to take a one-shot lead over a talent-laden leaderboard in the rain-delayed second round of the U.S. Senior Open.
-
Simpson, de Jonge share lead at Greenbrier Classic
Brendon de Jonge rode a wave of Hokie fever to a share of the second-round lead at the Greenbrier Classic.
-
Mother Nature wins round one at Women’s Open
Instead of teeing it up when she comes back to the Broadmoor, Cristie Kerr’s next shot at the U.S. Women’s Open will be a blast out of the bunker on the front, right side of the seventh green.
A difficult shot. But it could be worse. -
Woods to miss British Open
Those “minor” injuries to his left leg now have kept Tiger Woods from playing in two majors.
- More Golf Headlines
-
