Associated Press
Friday, August 25

AKRON, Ohio -- Jim Furyk is easily recognized on the PGA Tour as the guy with the loopy swing. This week at Firestone Country, his putting stroke also stands out.

Tiger beware

The only other time Tiger Woods had a 61 on the PGA Tour was the first round of the 1999 Byron Nelson Classic. He wound up in a tie for seventh. Then again, Cottonwood Valley was giving up plenty of low scores that day. Paul Goydos had a 62, and Nick Price had a 63 -- while playing in the same group as Woods. "That was pretty cool," Woods said. Not so cool was what happened in the third round, when he hit a 5-iron into the water on the 17th for a quadruple bogey and never threatened in the final round. Then again, he was tied with Steve Pate after 36 holes. This time, he leads by seven.

Determined to overcome a poor patch of putting, Furyk is gripping the club so low that his hands are nearly parallel with his knees.

"I noticed last week with my dad's help that I was lining it up a little too far to the right," Furyk said after a 1-under 69 on Friday while paired with Tiger Woods.

His goal with the unusual posture is to get his arms hanging more loosely. It appeared to be working. Through two rounds, Furyk has taken only 50 putts, second in the tournament to Woods and Justin Leonard.

"It's one thing to figure out what's wrong," Furyk said. "The hard part is trying to fix it."

All alone
With the field reduced to 37 players after three withdrawals, one player will go off by himself each day. On Friday, that duty fell to Ireland's Padraig Harrington, who got around Firestone in 2 hours, 50 minutes.

"This is the first time I've played on my own in a competitive round, as an amateur or a professional," he said. "It felt very strange, but at least there were still some people out there. Normally, I always learn from the guy I'm playing with. Today, I was all alone in my little bubble."

He couldn't complain about the results -- a 5-under 65, that moved him into the middle of the pack. His reward? He gets to play with Jeff Maggert in the third round, while Steve Pate draws single duty.

Monty madness
Colin Montgomerie will go another year without winning in America, unless he can make up 15 strokes on Woods over the weekend.

So why all the smiles?

Unlike the Ryder Cup or some majors in the United States, Montgomerie has heard cheers, not jeers, over the past two weeks. Some of that has to do with the 20 pounds he has dropped this summer.

Then again, Kentucky and Ohio are a far cry from Boston, New York and San Francisco.

"The crowd reaction this week has been super," Montgomerie said. "It's a big thrill to have that change. There's a buzz around the tees and the greens, people saying, 'He's lost weight, he's looking good.' I have really enjoyed my last six rounds here."

In the money
The three players who had to withdraw from the NEC Invitational will still receive money, although it won't go in their pockets.

David Duval (back), Steve Elkington (hip) and Vijay Singh (forearm) will get last-place money of $26,500 to donate to a charity of their choice.