GOLF Furyk thrives on back-nine putting

He surged to a five-stroke lead in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.
POIPU BEACH, Hawaii (AP) -- U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk picked up his short game at the right time.
Furyk putted just 12 times on the final nine holes as he opened with a 5-under-par 67 Friday to take a five-stroke lead over Masters champion Mike Weir in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.
"Through the course of the day, you're going to miss some putts and make some putts," he said. "It seems like on the front nine, I missed my share. On the back nine, I definitely made more than my share."
British Open champion Ben Curtis shot a 73 and PGA champion Shaun Micheel had a 75 in the 36-hole event for the winners of this year's four majors.
It was the first event in the Grand Slam's 21-year history featuring all first-time major champions.
Birdie streak
Furyk was down a stroke when he took command in the middle of the round. After sinking a 4-foot birdie putt on the 405-yard ninth hole to tie Weir, Furyk birdied three of the next five holes to open a three-stroke advantage.
An 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 No. 10 gave Furyk his first lead.
"I had a little hard time early on getting the ball in the hole and missing putts," he said. "But I made up for it on the back nine where I really made a bunch of putts, a bunch of 15-footers, some birdies and saved some pars."
His round included six birdies and one bogey, which came on the 209-yard No. 3 when his tee shot found the right-side rough underneath a tree.
Furyk, a part-time Maui resident, used his knowledge of the Hawaiian tradewinds that blew 15-20 mph. His accurate drives put him in good position, hitting 10 of his first 13 fairways.
He putted just 29 times during the round.
"Overall, I'm happy with the position I'm in," he said. "I want to stay focused on going out and playing another good round."
Weir and Furyk were at 35 at the turn and shared a three-stroke lead over Curtis.
Weir, the first Canadian to win a major, was steady all day, parring 16 holes. He had six pars before sinking an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-3 seventh. The birdie gave Weir a one-stroke advantage before Furyk regained the lead. Weir's bogey on No. 17 gave Furyk a four-stroke lead.
The quartet battled damp and breezy conditions at the 7,081-yard oceanside Poipu Bay Golf Course on the south shore of Kauai.
"The greens are tough out there," Furyk said. "They are difficult to read, a little tricky. I think they fooled all of us a few times, getting the line and the speed correct."
Weir said there was mud on his ball after every hit.
"I was just a little disappointed for that," he said. "I think a lot of us really couldn't control our shots and I think it would have been fun for everybody if we would have been able to get a little closer to the hole a little more."