"There's nothing wrong with stats," Furyk said. "It's just reiterating what he's done, and telling the truth. We all know he's tough to get the lead from when he gets out front, and he's playing real well right now. We've all got our hands full. He's the guy to chase."
Woods is in that position because when his game might have slipped away, he grabbed it back. He started on the back nine and made a bogey on the tough, uphill, par-4 11th - the only hole he bogeyed in Thursday's fine 64. But around the time he made the turn, Woods started, as he said, hitting the ball "a little bit scratchy at times."
That means he drove it in the rough on 17, but saved par. He hit it in a fairway bunker on the par-4 first, and calmly hit a pitching wedge to 6 feet, a remarkable birdie. He then found himself with an awkward, side-hill stance on a greenside knoll on the second, discovered a decent lie and made a splendid chip to a couple feet. And on the third, he flubbed a wedge on his approach - "Just a bad shot," he said - but saved yet another par.
