Wednesday, June 18, 2003
He broke the previous 54-hole record of 203 and took a three-stroke lead.
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. (AP) -- Not since Tiger Woods has anyone been under par by double digits at a U.S. Open. Not since Woods has anyone looked as much in control as Jim Furyk.
While Woods, Vijay Singh and everyone else around him fell apart, Furyk surged ahead Saturday at Olympia Fields with a 3-under 67 to shatter the 54-hole scoring record at the U.S. Open.
More importantly, Furyk will take a three-stroke lead over Stephen Leaney into the final round, thanks to a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that capped off a remarkable day.
Furyk finished at 10-under 200, breaking the previous 54-hole record of 203 last matched by Lee Janzen in 1993 at Baltusrol.
Singh falters
Singh, tied with Furyk most of the sunny, warm day south of Chicago, missed a 3-foot par putt on the 16th hole that sent him to a stunning collapse. He bogeyed the next two holes for a 72 and was five strokes behind.
"I got to this position with a certain type of strategy," Furyk said. "And I've got to continue to do that [today]."
The strategy is fairly simple -- fairways and greens, the strength of his game.
On an Olympia Fields course that ranks as one of the easiest in U.S. Open history, Furyk has done things few other players have known.
Gil Morgan was the first player to reach at least 10 under in a U.S. Open, at Pebble Beach in 1992. He faltered on the weekend and tied for 13th.
Woods was the last, winning at Pebble Beach three years ago at 12 under par.
Paired with Leaney
Furyk will be paired with Leaney, a 34-year-old Australian who has never been in contention in a major and is playing only his second U.S. Open. He recovered from a double bogey on No. 10 to shoot 68 and was at 203.
Nick Price had the lead at one point with five birdies in his first six holes, but gave all but one of those shots back and wound up with a 69, five strokes behind.
Barring the biggest comeback ever in a Grand Slam event, Woods won't hold a major title since before he won the '99 PGA Championship at nearby Medinah.
He took 35 putts, spent too much time in the rough and wound up with his worst score in a U.S. Open as a professional, a 5-over 75 that left him 11 shots out of the lead.
Still, the biggest collapse belonged to Singh.
Errant shots
He had a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th that would have given him a share of the lead. It took him three to get down for an unlikely bogey, and he followed that with a tee shot into the bunker on No. 17 and a drive into the rough on the 18th.
"There's no reason to make three bogeys on the last three holes," Singh said. "I'm a little disappointed at the way I finished. But there's a lot of holes to go."
What makes that tougher is the guy he's trying to catch.
Furyk has never won a major, but he is one of the grittiest guys in golf. He showed plenty of that on a back nine that swallowed up so many others, making two par saves from the bunker and two long birdies.
The biggest was his 40-footer on the par-3 15th. Furyk leaned to the right as it curled toward the hole, and pumped his fist when it fell in a rare display of emotion.
"Even I smile once in a while," Furyk said.