Golf: Jim Furyk takes lead in Tour Championship

Golf • American scores seven birdies in first 10 holes of round.

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Atlanta • Jim Furyk, the only American on the Ryder Cup team without a win this year, put himself in position Friday to join his teammates.

Furyk made seven birdies through 10 holes at East Lake — including seven 3s to start the round — until he missed a few greens on the back nine that slowed his momentum. He wound up with a 6-under 64, giving him a one-shot lead over Justin Rose going into the weekend at the Tour Championship.

As for anyone questioning whether Furyk should have been a pick for the Ryder Cup?

He was more bothered by missing a 5-foot par putt on the 18th hole than what anyone thinks about his game or being in the Ryder Cup for the eighth straight time.

"My teammates know that I'm going to give 110 percent," he said. "They know I have a lot of heart. I have a lot of grit, and that's what I'm going to do.

"But I've never felt like I have to justify myself."

All he cares about is winning the Tour Championship, with an outside shot at the FedEx Cup title and its $10 million bonus. Furyk was at 7-under 133 on a course where he won just two years ago.

Rose, who shared the 18-hole lead with Tiger Woods, made four birdies on the back nine and holed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 68.

Woods went the other direction.

The lone bright spot was a bunker shot that was among the best he has ever hit. With a quarter of the ball below the surface of the sand from a fairway bunker on the third hole, he caught a 9-iron so perfectly that it came out low and ran across the green to 6 feet for birdie.

The rest of the day was forgettable. He had to scramble for par on the 18th for a 73.

LPGA Tour

In Prattville, Ala., defending champion Lexi Thompson shot a 3-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead into weekend play in the Navistar LPGA Classic. The 17-year-old Thompson had a 12-under 132 total on the links-style Senator course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail's Capitol Hill complex. Mindy Kim and Mi Jung Hur were a stroke back. —

Leaderboard

Tour Championship

Jim Furyk -7

Justin Rose -6

Bubba Watson -5

Bo Van Pelt -5

Dustin Johnson -4

Matt Kuchar -4

Also

Rory McIlroy -3

Tiger Woods -1