Furyk, Love lead McGladrey

Associated Press

St. simons island, ga.

Three weeks after they were on stage together for the closing ceremony at the Ryder Cup, Davis Love III and Jim Furyk wound up together in a place few people would have imagined — in the final pairing at the McGladrey Classic, both wanting a win for different reasons.

Love made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Saturday for a 4-under 66, giving him a share of the lead with Furyk, who also had a 66 by doing most of his work early. He made a 45-foot birdie putt over a slight ridge on the second hole, added three more birdies through six holes, and settled for eight pars at the end.

They were at 13-under 197, two shots clear of Arjun Atwal (69) and D.J. Trahan (66), two players who could avoid a return to Q-school with a big week at Sea Island.

Warren JFK graduate Jason Kokrak, fighting to keep his PGA Tour card for 2013, shot a 66 — the best of his three rounds this weekend — and is tied for 29th entering today’s final round.Kokrak who finished in a tie for second place in the Frys.com Open last week, is at 6-under 204, just three shots out of the top 10.

Love, the 48-year-old tournament host and a Sea Island resident since he was 14, has gone four years without winning. Ryder Cup captains typically are at the end of their careers; the last American to win after being a captain was Tom Watson in 1996.

“It’s nice to be 100 percent focused on my golf,” Love said.

This is the second time this year that Love had a share of the 54-hole lead. He was tied in Memphis and finished two shots behind.

Furyk spoke openly this week about how even a win at the McGladrey Classic couldn’t erase a lot of sour memories this year, particularly his failure to close out wins at the U.S. Open and the Bridgestone Invitational, along with a 1-up lead over Sergio Garcia with two holes to play at the Ryder Cup.

He came to Sea Island out of respect to Love, a longtime friend, and showed up with moderate expectations. Playing relaxed throughout the week, Furyk has gone 38 holes without making a bogey and seems to be a little sharper each day.