Daily Wrap-up, Round 2: THE TOUR Championship

ATLANTA -- Jim Furyk played bogey-free on the back nine at East Lake and shot a tournament-best 65 on Friday for a share of the 36-hole lead with Luke Donald of England, who had another 66.

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Second-round coverage

FEDEXCUP TOP 5: What are they focused on this week? Winning THE TOUR Championship, writes Helen Ross. Column PLAYER REPORTS: How did the 30 players competing at THE TOUR Championship fare in the second round at East Lake? More DROUGHT OVER? Luke Donald is looking to end his victory drought at THE TOUR Championship this week. Column DREAM OR NIGHTMARE? To sleep to not sleep or to oversleep? That is the question in the 2010 Playoffs. Column

A two-time winner on the PGA TOUR this year, Furyk began the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup at No. 3 in the standings. But in the opening event at The Barclays, he was disqualified for missing the pro-am when his alarm didn't go off. He slipped six spots, and didn't scare anyone the next two weeks to fall to No. 11.

But with the top players in the standings starting to fade, Furyk only has to win at East Lake to collect the $10 million FedExCup prize -- the biggest payoff in golf.

"It's a bunch of money," Furyk said. "The only thing I can really control is to go out and play good on the weekend, try to win the golf tournament. And at that point, there's nothing else I can do about it."

Furyk has a chance to join Tiger Woods as the only FedExCup champion to miss the first playoff event, although it wasn't by choice.

"I'd like to join him with about 16 majors, too," Furyk said. "But that doesn't look like it's in the cards."

Going into the weekend, the deck is stacked in his favor.

Donald did a great job scrambling whenever he struggled off the tee, and pieced together another 66 to join Furyk at 8-under 132. One shot behind was Geoff Ogilvy, who had seven birdies in his round of 67.

Ogilvy's biggest concern was the Australian Rules Football grand final in Melbourne with his beloved St. Kilda going for only its second championship. He planned to watch the game and worry about sleep some other night.

Saturday's third round, with tee times moved up because of NBC Sports' obligation to Notre Dame college football, could determine whether this FedExCup finale is a three-man race.

Ogilvy, at 7-under 133, was the only player within four shots of the leaders. K.J. Choi did well to stay close by knocking in a 45-foot birdie putt on the par-3 18th, one of only seven birdies on that hole through two rounds.

Phil Mickelson's hopes were fading. He had a chance to become the first repeat winner of THE TOUR Championship presented Coca-Cola, and even a runner-up finish would be enough to replace Woods at No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Mickelson, however, had a 72 and was tied for 13th, nine shots out of the lead.

Updated standings

The final event in the 2010 PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup is under way. To see the latest FedExCup points projections, click here.

England's Paul Casey, getting plenty of attention for his Ryder Cup snub, had a share of the lead at various times during the hot afternoon until a sloppy finish, making bogeys on this last three holes for a 71. That put him in the group at 3-under 137.

Casey is No. 5 in the standings -- the highest-seeded player without a victory this year -- and he could wind up a FedExCup champion with a runner-up finish depending on how top-seeded Matt Kuchar fares.

"If I want to get up there and challenge those guys, I'm going to have to hit it a lot better than I did today," Casey said.

Furyk was in that spot a year ago -- a chance to win the FedExCup without winning on TOUR that year. He was a stronger contender this year with his victories at Innisbrook and Hilton Head. But then he lost ground with his pro-am blunder. Furyk headed home to Florida, making no excuses for his battery dying in a cell phone that he used for an alarm.

The TOUR changed its pro-am policy a week later after an outcry by just about every player except him.

"It was my fault," Furyk said. "If I whined or complained or anything about the rule, it's just going to make me look worse. My peers actually did plenty of that for me."

He got plenty of sympathy, followed by plenty of grief.

"Hundreds of people told me that I was going to get alarm clocks for Christmas," Furyk said.

He could afford plenty of those depending on how the rest of the week goes. He has made only one bogey through 36 holes, that coming on the seventh hole Friday when he missed the green to the right and missed a 7-foot par putt.

All he is thinking about his a good round Saturday, another one Sunday then figure out where he is.

"Yesterday I said all I want to do was think about the next day, try to shoot a round in the 60s," Furyk said. "I'll be doing the same thing tonight -- try to shoot another round in the 60s and put myself in the hunt."

That's not a simple task at East Lake, which is such a stern test that it doesn't take much for a round in the 60s to wind up over par. Kuchar had to play one shot on the 17th hole with his feet in the water and scrambled for a 70, leaving him in a tie for 15th at 2-over 142.

Charley Hoffman, the surprise winning in Boston to get to No. 3 in the standings, rallied with a 67 and was among the nine players still under par. He was at 2-under 138. The other players in the top five in the FedExCup -- they only have to win to capture the prize -- were Dustin Johnson (71) at 144 and Steve Stricker (68) at 142.

Donald hasn't won on the PGA TOUR all year, but he is showing great form with the Ryder Cup looming. It wasn't the fairways-and-greens golf for which Donald is known, but it was good enough for a share of the lead.

"The short game on the back nine kind of kept my score together," he said.

Player Reports: Round 2

Player (FEC rank) Score Comment Jim Furyk (11) 65 Wasn't accurate as in round 1 but a better putting day produced six birdies Luke Donald (7) 66 Found four greenside bunkers on the back but saved par on three of them Retief Goosen (17) 66 Three straight birdies (including 33-footer at 7) to close out front nine Charley Hoffman (3) 67 Hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation, best in the field on Friday Geoff Ogilvy (12) 67 Made seven birdies Friday, and 13 for first two rounds; no player has more K.J. Choi (23) 68 Has birdied the par-4 fourth and par-5 15th on both days Kevin Na (20) 68 Was bogey-free until he found fairway and greenside bunkers at 16 Justin Rose (13) 68 After a bogey at the second hole, he settled down the rest of the way Steve Stricker (4) 68 Ended Thursday with two straight bogeys; ended Friday with a birdie Ben Crane (22) 69 Was 2 over on round through 10 holes but turned it around on back nine Jason Day (6) 69 Has yet to make a bogey on the front nine through first two rounds Bo Van Pelt (30) 69 Eagled the par-5 15th when his second shot landed within 11 feet Camilo Villegas (25) 69 Sleeping well tonight after finishing with four consecutive birdies Bubba Watson (18) 69 Bogey-free until the 17th when he three-putted from 40 feet Robert Allenby (27) 70 Holed out from 103 yards for birdie at the par-4 13th Matt Kuchar (1) 70 Bad tee shot at 17 forced awkward stance in water on his second shot Jeff Overton (24) 70 Double bogey at 6 when he found the water with his tee shot Kevin Streelman (29) 70 Had a terrific round going until he bogeyed last three holes Paul Casey (5) 71 Like Streelman, he was looking good until bogeys at 16, 17 and 18 Ernie Els (8) 71 Was bogey-free 2-under through 12 but struggled to finish Dustin Johnson (2) 71 Had nothing good going until a couple of late birdies Hunter Mahan (15) 71 Double bogeys at 6 and 17 ruined an otherwise good round Adam Scott (14) 71 No player has missed more fairways this week (28.6 percent) Zach Johnson (19) 72 Made a 55-foot, 10-inch putt for birdie on 6 during a messy round Phil Mickelson (10) 72 Hit just four fairways on Friday and 10 for the first two days Ryan Moore (26) 72 Nice up-and-down on 18 when he saved par with a 19-foot putt Ryan Palmer (16) 72 Tied with Zach Johnson for most bogeys (10) in first two days Tim Clark (21) 73 All pars on front nine, but his back nine was more adventurous Martin Laird (9) 73 Doubled the par-3 sixth for the second consecutive day Nick Watney (28) 74 Has not made a putt longer than 6 feet, 1 inch in first two rounds

East Lake: Round 2

EASIEST HOLE TOUGHEST HOLE The par-5 15th hole was the easiest with a Friday scoring average of 4.400. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 17 PARS: 11 BOGEYS: 1 OTHERS: 0 The par-4 5th hole was the toughest with a Friday scoring average of 4.267. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 0 PARS: 23 BOGEYS: 6 OTHERS: 1