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.
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