MONTREAL — Two-time winner Jim Furyk birdied two of his last four holes Friday in the Canadian Open to match the Royal Montreal record at 7-under 63 and tie Tim Petrovic atop the leaderboard. ADVERTISING MONTREAL — Two-time winner Jim
MONTREAL — Two-time winner Jim Furyk birdied two of his last four holes Friday in the Canadian Open to match the Royal Montreal record at 7-under 63 and tie Tim Petrovic atop the leaderboard.
The 44-year-old Furyk, the 2006 winner at Hamilton and 2007 champion at Angus Glen, matched Petrovic at 10-under 130 on the tree-line Blue Course.
“Winning any event is special,” Furyk said. “I’ve had a lot of success (in Canada) and really a lot of support here. But we’re only at the halfway point.”
The 47-year-old Petrovic followed his opening 64 with a 66.
“I have been hitting the ball really well for about the last three weeks,” Petrovic said. “I’ve seen signs of some good rounds coming. Am I surprised? Maybe a little.”
Canada’s Graham DeLaet, playing in a threesome with Furyk and Matt Kuchar, was two strokes back along with Kyle Stanley. DeLaet, trying to become the first Canadian winner in the event in 60 years, also had a 63.
Stanley shot 67.
Furyk and DeLaet matched the course record set by David Morland and Scott Verplank in the second round of the 2001 Canadian Open. Verplank went on to win that week.
Furyk, coming off a fourth-place finish in the British Open, made four straight birdies on Nos. 11-14 on his opening nine on the rain-softened course and added birdies on Nos. 1, 6 and 8. He won the last of his 16 PGA Tour titles in 2010.
Petrovic was the last player to get in the field, grabbing a spot when Benjamin Alvarado withdrew Tuesday. Petrovic won his lone PGA Tour title in New Orleans in 2005.
International Crown
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The United States shuffled its lineup in the second round of the International Crown and got the desired result, beating Spain twice to earn its first points in the eight-country event.
Lexi Thompson and Cristie Kerr took control on the back nine against Belen Mozo and Beatriz Recari in a 3-and-2 win, and Paula Creamer and Stacy Lewis held on to beat Azahara Munoz and Carlota Ciganda 2 up.
One day earlier, the top-seeded U.S. lost twice to Taiwan and was the only country without a point.
“Obviously, we made the right decision,” Creamer said. “We felt comfortable.”
Kerr said: “I thought Lexi and I had a lot of chemistry out there together. We played with a lot of heart for each other.”
Thailand leads Pool A with five points, followed by Taiwan and the U.S. with four and Spain with three. Japan stands atop Pool B with six points. South Korea has four, and Sweden and Australia each have three.
On Saturday in the final day of better-ball play, the United States will face Thailand, and Spain will play Taiwan. In Pool B, Sweden will face Australia, and South Korea will play Japan.
The top two teams in each pool, along with the winner of a playoff between the third-place teams, will compete in singles matches Sunday for the inaugural International Crown title.
Senior British Open
BRIDGEND, Wales — Bernhard Langer opened a seven-stroke lead in the Senior British Open, following his opening 65 with a 66 to reach 11 under at sunny Royal Porthcawl.
The German lost a playoff to Mark Wiebe last year at Royal Birkdale after blowing a two-stroke lead on the final hole of regulation when he failed to get out of a greenside bunker.
“It still hurts when I think about it,” Langer said. “If you put me in that situation a hundred times, I think I would win 98 or 99.”
Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie, seeking his third straight senior major title, was tied for second with Englishman Chris Williams. Montgomerie had a 66, and Williams shot 70.
Spain’s Pedro Linhart (69) was fourth at 3 under. Tom Watson (66) and Bob Tway (73) were 2 under.
