Jim Furyk fired the sixth 59 in US PGA Tour history, reaching golf’s magic number in the second round of the BMW Championship.
Furyk capped his round at the par-71 Conway Farms Golf Club with a three-foot birdie at the ninth hole, his last of the day.
He had 11 birdies, one eagle and one bogey and joined Brandt Snedeker atop the leaderboard on Friday. “Pretty exciting day,” said Furyk, 43.
American Furyk got to six-under through his first six holes with four birdies and an eagle at the par-four 15th. He birdied 17 and 18 to complete a back-nine 28. Furyk, a former US Open champion and eight-time Ryder Cup player, said he tried to forget about his first nine holes as he set off on his inward run, knowing he needed four birdies to break 60.
He birdied three in a row starting at the second before his only miscue of the day, a bogey at the par-four fifth. “It was a little hectic down the stretch,” Furyk said.
Furyk fired his approach at the ninth right at the pin, and rolled the short putt into the heart of the cup to finish the round at 12-under par. Furyk is the first US PGA Tour player to post a 59 since 2010, when both Paul Goydos and Australian Stuart Appleby achieved the feat
Woods penalised for moving ball
Tiger Woods was having a pretty decent day on Friday until rules officials informed him after his second round was over that they were slapping him with a two-stroke penalty.
Woods managed a one-over 72 to end in a share of 13th at four-under 138.
But that included being hit with a two-shot penalty on the first hole, when he tried to move a tiny stick that also slightly shifted his golf ball. That changed his double bogey to a quadruple bogey. Rules officials said they were alerted to the infraction by a PGA Tour videographer.