By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Jim
Furyk is looking at his upcoming final round at The McGladrey
Classic as an opportunity. An opportunity to win for the first time
since 2010. An
opportunity to end a tough season on a positive
note. Furyk carded a 4-under 66 in the third round to tie
tournament host Davis Love III (66) for the 54-hole lead at 13
under on Saturday. Furyk and Love, both coming off the nightmare
finish at the Ryder Cup, will be paired together in the final
round on the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club.
Furyk, 42, lost in a four-man playoff at the Transitions
Championship, lost the lead through 69 holes at the U.S. Open,
double-bogeyed the 72nd hole to lose the Bridgestone Invitational
and recently bogeyed the final two holes to lose a Sunday singles
match to Sergio Garcia at the Ryder Cup. "You get your tail kicked
in this game a lot, and I think it makes the good times and the
wins that much sweeter ...," said Furyk, a 16-time TOUR winner.
"I'm not one of those people that after those events, I never sat
back and didn't work. It made me work harder." "He was real close
to an All-Star, hero year," Love said of Furyk. "And that showed
today. He came out firing and looked like he was going to birdie
every hole." Furyk started with a 42-footer on the second, and
added birdies on Nos. 3, 6 and 10. He came in with low expectations
after taking a break following the Americans' meltdown at Medinah.
He's played loose all week and he says that strategy won't
change on Sunday.
The leaders tee off at 1:15 p.m. ET. "If I now
said, 'OK, I'm tied for the lead and there's only one round to go
and I try to flip my mindset, I'm going to get tight and it's going
to be harder to score," Furyk said. "...I had played a lot of golf;
I was tired, so I was trying to get away and felt that was the best
thing I could do at the time, so I came in here just not really
expecting that much. "I know I'm playing well, I know my game's in
good shape, so let's see what happens. And I'm going to do the same
thing tomorrow." Love, meanwhile, hasn't won since 2008. He's using
a belly putter this week and ranks in the top 20 in strokes
gained-putting. He said being the Ryder Cup Captain inspired him to
play well during the Fall Series. "It certainly motivated me," Love
said. Furyk and Love, 48, lead D.J. Trahan (66) and Arjun Atwal
(69) by two shots. Bud Cauley, seeking his first win on the TOUR,
is three shots back after a 68. Defending champion Ben Crane
rocketed up the leaderboard with a third-round 62. Crane, who came
from behind to win last season, made the cut on the number and
moved into a tie for sixth place, four shots back "I felt like I
was out of the tournament back there at 1 under par starting out
the day," said Crane, who made up a seven-shot deficit in the final
11 holes to win last season. "But a 62, we’re back in it. Get
out there tomorrow and see if I can hot again."