Oak Hill fights back, and Furyk takes it up

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The essential part of shooting a good score and taking the third-round lead at the PGA Championship, Jim Furyk said, was not being bothered by disappointments. This is a skill that he had a chance to practice an awful lot last year.

He let the 2012 U.S. Open slip away on the final hole, the same way he lost the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. He also foundered at the finish of the Ryder Cup.

Despite all of that, plus a push back from a proud Oak Hill course that had been shredded for two days, he had the resolve to put himself in prime position again on Saturday. He shot a 2-under-par 68, got to 9 under and landed right where he hoped to be.

If he also has put himself in position for another disappointment, so be it.

"People always ask, would you rather be one ahead or one back. Well, I'd rather be one ahead," said the 43-year-old who has been on a 10-year quest to follow up his one major championship, the 2003 U.S. Open.

Furyk is comfortable with his one-shot lead over Jason Dufner, who had his own struggles but finished with a par putt on No. 18 that looked wide, paused and went in from the side of the hole, giving him a 71.

Furyk, having joked this week that reporters are trying to bring him down when they bring up his 0-for-4 record with 54-hole leads in 2012, is looking only ahead.

"I've been relaxed this week and felt very calm out there, even when I have not hit good shots. I really haven't let it bother me at all, and that's why on a bad start today, I was able to come back and turn it into a good round," Furyk said after making the sort of clutch 15-foot par putt on 18 that he often failed to sink last year.

Probably Furyk's best birdie was his last one, at the brutal 504-yard, par-4 17th, where he hit a 3-hybrid from 244 yards out to 15 feet and sank the putt to take the lead for good. He then got up and down for par on 18.

"I've felt good with my putter all week," he said. "I've felt comfortable. I've hit a lot of good putts. I can't say they have all went in but I've made my share."

Other players can make Sunday interesting. Dufner, coming off a majors record-tying 63 on Friday, did not crumble after hitting his tee shot in the water for double bogey on No. 5. He played 1 under the rest of the day. Right behind him, at 7 and 6 under, are Henrik Stenson and Jonas Blixt, each trying to give Sweden its first men's major title.

At 5 under are Adam Scott, the reigning Masters champion who played poorly and shot 72, and Steve Stricker, who shot 70 and is aiming for his first major toward the end of a solid career.

"There is a lot of pressure," Dufner said. "Some guys show it, some guys hide it. Me and Jim hide it pretty well. It's just that guys deal with it differently."

Pressure was thick among the leaders, and proved too heavy for some. Matt Kuchar and U.S. Open champion Justin Rose dropped out of sight with 76 and 77. The struggles resounded all over the course. "You have got to take care of the stuff you can do something about," Blixt said. "I mean, you can't really affect anyone else. It's not ice hockey we're playing here."

Furyk seemed on thin ice, with bogeys on Nos. 2 and 3. "I was able to not let things faze me today. I slowly kind of got my rhythm back," he said, adding that he got going with a successful 10-foot birdie putt on the par-5 fourth. "Then I kind of started just plodding along, fairways and greens."

That sums up a career path that has yielded 16 PGA Tour victories. He was asked to compare his golf to the way his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers play football, and he did not shy from the question.

"My grandparents were mill workers. I learned a great work ethic from my parents and they learned it from their parents. It's part of Pittsburgh," he said. "I think it's probably not a lot of bells and whistles, but go out there and give it your best and play hard."

Now in his first legitimate chance to win the PGA, he says he's comfortable and ready for the challenge.

"I'm relaxed and I'm going to enjoy [Sunday] just like I had fun today," he said. "The reason why I was able to turn the round around and the reason why I shot 68 after the bogeys, I was comfortable with myself and the situation. It wasn't really about expectations. It was just about playing the shot and moving forward."

The leader board is rather spread out, but the control lies with Furyk, who admits he may have put too much pressure on himself in the past to win that second major. He said he won't do that Sunday.

"I'm really viewing it as, I need to go out there and put together a good, solid round of golf, fire a good number and hope it stacks up well," he said.