It was a Friday the 13th that a lot of us won’t forget anytime soon, but one that the top player in the world will definitely want to put behind him.
The most obvious story that developed Friday at the BMW Championship was Jim Furyk, who became only the 6th player ever in the history of the PGA Tour to shoot a round in the 50’s. In swirling winds that at times were well north of 20 mph, Jim Furyk went completely bonkers at Conway Farms, and it was so obvious that he was going to shoot a sub-60 round that thoughts of potentially shooting 58 or maybe even 57 were definitely not out of the question. In fact – that careless 3-putt bogey on the par4 5th essentially cost him a round of 58, which would’ve earned him an even more exclusive part of history all to himself.
Photo Courtesy of AFP
Furyk joins a very exclusive club of 5 other PGA Tour players who’ve accomplished this extraordinary sub-60 feat, with Al Geiberger shooting 59 back in 1977, Chip beck back in 1991, David Duval back in 1999, and both Paul Goydos and Stuart Appleby carding rounds of 59 back in 2010.
check out Furyk’s 2nd round scorecard
Let there be no doubt, whether Furyk wants to admit this or not – this was clearly a statement round that he issued to none other than Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples, who decided to exclude Furyk as one of his captain’s picks by opting for Webb Simpson instead.
Furyk admitted last week that he was incredibly disappointed to not make the team, so much so that he described his mood as a little “grouchy” while sharing breakfast Thursday morning with friends and ‘would’ve-been teammates’ Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson, both of whom were talking about the upcoming event next month. “But I felt like last night I kind of kicked myself in the rear end and said, `You know, it’s done with. It’s over with,'” Furyk said. “There’s nothing I can do to change it now. It’s over and let’s just focus on this week.”
Furyk’s unforgettable round on Friday put him tied for the lead with Brandt Snedeker @ 11-under, with Zach Johnson lurking closely behind just three shots back.
Live Projected FedEx Cup Points
The other big story to develop late Friday afternoon was Tiger Woods, but in a completely different light from that of Jim Furyk’s. On the first hole of the second round, Woods’ tee shot found the trees and while attempting to remove some twigs from around his ball, the ball moved from its original position. Woods claimed that he thought the ball simply oscillated, which had that been the case there wouldn’t have been an issue. But a video that was taken by a freelance videographer recording Woods’ gardening duties revealed that the ball indeed moved out of its original position and never returned, thus no oscillation. Woods made a double-bogey on the hole, or so he thought, and continued playing the round. After his round and just prior to signing his scorecard – Woods was approached by PGA rules official Slugger White, who questioned him about the incident back on the 1st hole. Woods watched the replaying of the incident on the video, but still remained unconvinced that the ball had moved from its original position.
In the end, Slugger White assessed Woods a 2-shot penalty, which meant that he would sign for a round of 72 instead of the 70 that he initially thought he had scored. “He said he didn’t feel he could see that. I felt like that was OK, but the ball did move,” White said. “He knew there was movement there, but it’s like he was very adamant that it oscillated – it stayed there. But this video was at the site, and the ball did in fact move.”
VIDEO REVEALS TIGER’S BALL DOES INDEED MOVE OUT OF ORIGINAL POSITION
Tiger, if I may… you clearly need to have your eyes checked if you watched the video and still maintain that the ball didn’t move. It clearly did, and furthermore – I was paying attention to the additional pause you exhibited after the ball did move. I’ll stop short of saying that you knew it moved, because we know what that infers. But to argue that the ball oscillated and didn’t move out of its original position, despite video evidence revealing otherwise???
Are you and Michelle Wie related, perhaps?
Scott's Golf Blog 
While it may be true that while standing above the ball, it might have been difficult to determine that the ball actually moved from it’s original position, the enhanced video showed something different. The video was from a ground level and along with a mark on that side of the ball, it clearly showed that the ball moved and did not oscillate. Not a strong case for no penalty.
It’s his third instance this year where he’s been in the rules spotlight for doing something he shouldn’t have. But the arrogance to continue denying that the ball didn’t move and that he did nothing wrong in this latest instance, despite the overwhelming evidence proving otherwise, is incredible.
99.9 percent of the other players playing at that level would’ve called a penalty on themselves in that situation. Tiger not only didn’t, but was quite upset afterward when Slugger White informed him that despite his argument he was still getting a 2-shot penalty.
Tiger thinks he’s exempt from the rules I guess.