ATLANTA – Jim Furyk’s second-round 64 on Friday is the second-lowest round he has ever shot in 54 career rounds of the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola and his lowest at East Lake.

Furyk

Friday’s 6-under 64 puts Furyk at 7 under through 36 holes and gives him the clubhouse lead with several players still on the course.

Furyk is making his first start at East Lake since winning the tournament and the FedExCup in 2010. He has to feel good about his chances entering the weekend, since he generally plays better in the final two round of the TOUR Championship than the first two.

Of his last 18 rounds on the weekend – dating back to 2001 – Furyk has posted 13 rounds under par and another three at even par.

JIM FURYK’S CAREER AT TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

ATLANTA -- Jim Furyk continues to put on a clinic during the second round of the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola.

His second straight tap-in birdie, this one from 15 inches at the par-5 ninth hole, fueled a front-nine 29 for Furyk that was one stroke off the course mark. He just made his seventh birdie of the day at the 10th hole on a 7-footer to open a three-stroke lead in the tournament at 8 under.

Matt Kuchar is alone in second after making an 18-footer for his third birdie of the day at the seventh hole. Robert Garrigus and Zach Johnson, who are playing together, have just birdied the ninth hole to turn in 33 and are tied with Tiger Woods at 4 under. Woods has played six holes.

Dustin Johnson, who is 1 under for the tournament and even for the day, will play his final seven holes with a new caddy. His regular looper, Bobby Brown, tweaked his back this morning and just had to surrender the bag to one of Johnson's friends at the 11th hole.

ATLANTA -- A tap-in birdie at the seventh hole has extended Jim Furyk's string of 3s and given him sole possession of the lead again at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola.

Furyk's fifth birdie during that seven-hole stretch came from a mere 10 inches. He's now 6 under and one stroke ahead of local favorite Matt Kuchar, who went to Georgia Tech. Kuchar has started with a trio of 3s, two of which were for birdie.

Overnight co-leader Tiger Woods was unable to get up and down from a greenside bunker at the first hole so he's dropped back to 3 under. His playing partner, Justin Rose, who matched Woods' first-round 66, has parred the first two holes and his tied with Bo Van Pelt.

UPDATE: Furyk’s streak ended at the eighth hole where he missed the green and was unable to chip in from 22 feet behind the green.

No one had ever made seven straight 3s at the TOUR Championship. But a total of 25 players had made six straight.

Furyk’s streak was the most since Louis Oosthuizen made nine consecutive 3s at Firestone Country Club in the fourth round at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational earlier this year.

ATLANTA -- Jim Furyk, who won the FedExCup and TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola in 2010, has opened with a string of four straight 3s on Friday to join the leaders at 4 under.

Furyk, who came to East Lake ranked 18th in the FedExCup, started the spurt with a 14-footer at the first hole. He parred the second hole, then made birdie putts from 4 and 5 feet on the next two.

Furyk is now tied with Justin Rose and Tiger Woods, who tee off at 2:05 p.m.

Rory McIlroy, who started the week ranked first in the FedExCup, just drained a 22-footer for birdie at the sixth hole after opening with five straight pars. He's moved to 2 under and two strokes off the lead.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

ATLANTA -- Jim Furyk has no idea what he needs to do to win the FedExCup. Other than win the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, that is.

If he can win the final event in the FedExCup Playoffs for the second time in two years, Furyk will have a chance to win the $10 million bonus again, as well. But starting this week at No. 18 will make him even more dependent on the kindness of the not-so-strangers in the top five than he was in 2010 when the veteran came to East Lake ranked 11th.

"I know I would have to win, and a lot of things would have to happen," Furyk said. "But I'm never really worried about that. Like I said, I had two or three friends try to text me, do you know what you have to do? No. It's hard enough winning a golf tournament. I can't control the rest."

Bill Haas followed in Furyk's footsteps last year, coming in ranked 25th and taking the dual titles. But given the way these Playoffs have unfolded -- with Rory McIlroy winning the last two tournaments, bringing his total for the year to four -- a come-from-well-behind FedExCup victory like the one last year seems unlikely.

"I think those top 10 to 12 guys probably have a really good opportunity,” Furyk said. "Then past that, it's going to take a lot of help, because, as you said, the guys that are up there at the top have been playing very well.
   
"It's hard to imagine Rory not being in contention this week as well as he's been playing. But that's part of it. I think all we can do is really worry about our game and trying to get ourselves in position to try to win a golf tournament this week."

Furyk, who is looking for his first win since 2010 at East Lake, thinks the different ways the FedExCup has been won -- by dominant players, in a dogfight and coming from out of the pack -- only adds to the allure of the Playoffs, which have quickly cemented themselves in the golf calendar.

"I think every year it's accomplished what we wanted it to," Furyk said. "It's given television another month of golf. It's given the fans, the best players in the game another month of golf. The ratings are pretty good. People are watching. They're interested.

“That's what fans tell me, and we didn't have that before. After the last major championship we had the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup left. Ratings failed. It was difficult on sponsors, difficult on television. Now we've got more people watching. We've got more interest for one more month of golf, and it's good for our sport and good for our TOUR."

Have a question for Jim Furyk? Send us your questions for Direct Connect — PGATOUR.COM’s video franchise that gets you closer to a pro each week — and host John Swantek might use it when he chats with Furyk, winner of the 2010 TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola and the FedExCup.

If you want to ask Furyk a question, now is your opportunity. Just fill out the form below.

Also, we are now taking video submissions of questions. If you would like to send a video of you asking your question, please email the video to directconnectpgatour@gmail.com. Please keep video to 20 seconds or less, shoot landscape style, and include your name and where you’re from in the text of your email.

Direct Connect video is posted each Wednesday afternoon on PGATOUR.COM, so please check back then for the Furyk interview.

All times Eastern.

Tuesday, Sept. 18
11 a.m. -- Jim Furyk (No. 18)
1 p.m. -- 2012 Payne Stewart Award winner revealed

Wednesday, Sept. 19
Tiger Woods (No. 2) – Following morning sponsor breakfast
Rory McIlroy (No. 1) – Following morning sponsor breakfast
10 a.m. – Nick Watney (No. 3)
11:15 a.m. – John Huh (No. 26)
1 p.m. – Luke Donald (No. 15)
2:30 p.m. – PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem

TBD
Phil Mickelson (No. 4)
Brandt Snedeker (No. 5)

The top 30 in FedExCup points are headed to East Lake for the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. Here’s a look at Jim Furyk, one of the 30 players who will contend for the FedExCup title.

SCENARIOS TO WIN FEDEXCUP: For Furyk to win the FedExCup, he MUST win the TOUR Championship and have the following scenarios fall into place:
> Rory McIlroy (No. 1) finishes T-11 or worse
> Tiger Woods (No. 2) finishes 5th or worse
> Nick Watney (No. 3) finishes in a 3-way tie for 3rd or worse
> Phil Mickelson (No. 4) must finish third or worse
> Brandt Snedeker (No. 5) finishes in a 3-way tie for 2nd or worse
> *Tie for the FedExCup
Click here for scenarios of every player

SEASON IN REVIEW: He hasn't won a tournament since the 2010 TOUR Championship on the way to capturing the FedExCup. But the 16-time PGA TOUR champ had another solid season that included a playoff loss at the Transitions Championship and a tie for second at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational among his six top-10s. His consistency and experience landed Furyk a Captain's Pick for the Ryder Cup. -- Helen Ross

PATH TO TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP: Here’s a look at Furyk’s results in the first three events of the 2012 FedExCup Playoffs:
Click here for Playoffs Tracker of every player.

Tournament
Tournament finish	MC	T-13	9th
FEC ranking after event	25th	17th	18th

PREVIOUS FEDEXCUP FINISHES: Here is how Furyk has finished in previous Playoffs appearances:

	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007
FedExCup finish	36th	1st	4th	5th	11th

EAST LAKE HISTORY: Furyk won at East Lake two years ago to capture the FedExCup. In all, he has eight finishes in the top 10 in 13 appearances, including a pair of runner-up finishes in 1997 and 2006.

ALBERS’ QUICK TAKE: Fred Albers, on-course correspondent for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, provides a quick look at Furyk:
Has to get good vibes just being at East Lake following his win in 2010.  Might have a chip on his shoulder to finish off a tournament after disappointments at both the U.S. Open and WGC-Bridgestone.  Has been quietly playing well during the FedExCup Playoffs.

WATCH: Furyk holes out for eagle from 178 yards at the Memorial tournament

PLAYER PAGE: Click here for more on Jim Furyk

Now it’s your turn. How do you think Furyk will fare at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola?

Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Rory McIlroy's last two wins have come with new Titleist metalwoods.

By John Schwarb, PGATOUR.COM

As Titleist keeps putting new metalwoods into PGA TOUR players’ hands, Rory McIlroy is quickly winning with them.

McIlroy won the PGA Championship in August with Titleist’s new prototype 913D3 driver, just a few weeks after it debuted on pro tours, and at last week’s Deutsche Bank Championship became the first player to win with Titleist’s new 913 prototype fairway metals.

The company began putting the fairways into players’ hands at the FedExCup Playoffs opener, and McIlroy immediately put a 913Fd 13.5- and 18-degree model into play at The Barclays. He had played 906F fairway metals for most of his professional career.

The new metals are the 913Fd and 913F, with the Fd having a bigger head and less spin.

“He liked the Fd products … it produced the ball flight he was looking for, a flat ball flight with not too much spin, but enough spin to hit some different shots, some cuts, some draws. And when he wanted to keep it down, he could keep it down as well,” Titleist tour rep Chris Tuten said on the company’s blog. “He was very happy with it, and so are we.”

One would imagine so, with how McIlroy is piling up wins.

Callaway Golf

LONG BALL: Dustin Johnson finished T4 at TPC Boston with a new 3-wood, a TaylorMade R11S. He was looking for a weapon to better attack the par 5s and found it in a 15.5-degree model, playing the par 5s in 9 under for the week including three birdies and an eagle at the remodeled 18th hole.

WEDGE WORK: Jim Furyk has been seeking a better wedge, one with versatility to chip and pitch while also working out of bunkers and as a flop-shot go-to. In recent weeks, Callaway reps built seven different wedges for the 2010 FedExCup champ, all with different sole grinds and the extreme hosel offset he prefers.

The keeper turned out to be a Vintage X Forged 54/14 with the sole flattened, moving the bounce to the trailing edge in order to keep as much bounce in the heel as possible. The sole has three different bounces with the heel at 14 degrees, the center of the sole having 10 degrees and the toe having 8 degrees. This combination has been coined the "Cork Screw" grind.

Furyk is sixth on TOUR in scrambling and third in sand save percentage.

WINNER’S BAG: McIlroy at the Deutsche Bank Championship:
Driver: Titleist 913D3 (Mitsubishi Diamana proto 70X, 8.5 degrees)
Fairway woods: Titleist 913Fd (13.5, 18 degrees)
Irons: Titleist MB (3-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM4 (46, 54, 60 degrees) 
Putter: Scotty Cameron GSS 
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x