Jim Furyk topped the Barclays Classic leaderboard for the second straight round, holing out from 153 yards for an eagle 2 on the eighth hole _ his 17th _ and finishing with a par for a 2-under 69. The nine-time PGA Tour winner had an 8-under 134 total on the hilly, tree-lined Westchester Country Club course.
Caddie Mike "Fluff" Cowan talked Furyk into hitting an 8-iron on No. 8.
"I was between 9-iron and 8-iron," Furyk said. "I wanted to hit the 9, but my caddie talked me out of it. After he told me what he thought the wind was doing and described the shot, I thought he was right."
Furyk had surgery on his left wrist in March 2004, missed most of the first half of last season and failed to win on the PGA Tour for the first time since 1997.
"I don't view myself as really coming back from anything now. It was last year. It's over," he said after his first-round 65. "I'm the same player I was before. I expect myself to play at a high level and I expect to compete to win."
Brian Gay was a stroke back after birdieing three of his last five holes for a 66.
"I'm very pleased," said Gay, the only afternoon starter in the top eight. "It was very tough out there. The greens are really getting baked out."
Padraig Harrington (65), Len Mattiace (65), Kenny Perry (68), John Senden (67) and Hidemichi Tanaka (68) were tied for third at 6 under.
"I think they set the pins up brutal for the first two rounds," said Perry, a two-time winner this year. "I've never seen them set up this tough. They seem to be more on the edges. ... It's a tough old girl. You got to watch what you're doing."
Kevin Sutherland (68) was four strokes back at 4 under, and Singh (71) and Tom Pernice Jr. (69) were 3 under. Singh was in a much better mood Friday after criticizing tour officials Thursday for failing to enforce slow-play rules.
"I feel good about my game," said Singh, the 1993 and 1995 winner. "Five shots on this golf course is nothing."
Furyk's second shot on No. 8 landed about 8 feet short of the hole _ cut 4 yards off the left edge _ and dropped in on the second bounce.
"The ball started a little bit to the right of the pin and the wind blew it back on the pin," Furyk said. "It looked like it was going to be really tight. I was asking for it to get in there tight and it disappeared."
The leaderboard-topping eagle came a hole after he was distracted twice by a man loudly clearing his throat near the seventh green.
"Maybe he ate a hot dog too fast. It sounded like he had the whole thing stuck in his throat," Furyk said. "I wasn't rude. I just kind of said, `Hey, everything all right with the throat there? You got everything cleared?'
"I don't who it was. If it was intentional, I wanted them to stop it. And if it wasn't intentional I wanted them to stop. I didn't care either way. Just give me a little peace and quiet."
Furyk then holed his difficult bogey putt.
"I had a 10-footer that was probably breaking 3 feet," he said. "I was aiming way right of the hole and ended up dying it right in the middle. That was probably the biggest putt of the day."
Defending champion Sergio Garcia was 1 over after a 71. Also the 2001 winner, he shot a 72 on Thursday, ending his streak of par or better rounds in the event at 19.
"I just couldn't make any putts," Garcia said. "It's just a matter of rolling a couple of putts in and getting some confidence."
Corey Pavin shot a 64 _ the best round of the day _ after opening with a 77. He began the day tied for 124th and finished with a share of 18th at 1 under.
Pavin had nine birdies and two bogeys Friday, and has birdied 11 of 20 holes after playing the first 16 on Thursday in 8 over. He opened with a 3 1/2-foot birdie putt on No. 10 after four-putting the hole from 4 feet for a triple-bogey 7 Thursday.
"I was 8 over standing on the 17th tee yesterday, so I'm pretty pleased to be where I am right now," Pavin said.
Divots
Dean Wilson, best known as one of Annika Sorenstam's playing partners in the 2003 Colonial, made a double eagle on No. 9, holing his 216-yard second shot with a 4-iron. The double eagle was the third in tournament history. Larry Ziegler had one on No. 12 in 1971 and Bob Gilder accomplished the feat on No. 18 in the third round of his 1982 victory. Wilson was 1 over after a 71. ... U.S. Amateur champion Ryan Moore made the cut by a stroke in his pro debut. The former UNLV player was 3 over after a 74.
Jim Furyk topped the Barclays Classic leaderboard for the second straight round, holing out from 153 yards for an eagle 2 on the eighth hole _ his 17th _ and finishing with a par for a 2-under 69. The nine-time PGA Tour winner had an 8-under 134 total on the hilly, tree-lined Westchester Country Club course.