It went almost completely unnoticed but Jason Day bolted 20 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for ninth and right into contention after the second round of the BMW Championship.
Day fired a crisp five-under 66 to move to five-under for the third of four PGA Tour playoff tournaments but his climb was rightfully dwarfed by American veteran Jim Furyk’s stunning 12-under 59.
Furyk became just the sixth man in history to break 60 on the PGA Tour and climbed into a tie for the lead with Brandt Snedeker at 11-under; leaving Day six shots back with two rounds to play.
Given the low scores over the opening rounds the 25-year-old was still very optimistic he could make a charge towards victory.
“I played well today and set myself up for the weekend and I know Brandt and Jim are playing very well out in front but there is still 36 holes to go and plenty of time left,” he said.
“The set up of the course allows low ones if you’re good enough.
“The course is immaculate and the greens are running pure. If you are good enough to put yourself in the right positions you can definitely make a lot of birdies.
“As long as I keep chipping away at it the next two days I could get in a good position to maybe win the tournament but if I don’t then getting as high as possible is the key to get as high up the FedEx Cup rankings as possible.”
The Queenslander said the winds would play a huge part in who prevailed over the weekend.
Plus with others going low patience would prove a huge factor.
“The wind can really switch on you so it’s not as easy as you think out here,” he said.
“You have to stay committed to every shot.
“If I make a mistake I just try to tell myself to stay patient because opportunities will come here.”
Adam Scott threw away a great start to his round to shoot a two-over 73 and drop to a tie for 17th at two-under par.
Birdies on the first and seventh holes had the Masters champion at six-under for the tournament and as high as a tie for fourth before disaster struck on the par five eighth.
After his tee shot rolled into a fairway bunker forcing a lay up, Scott chunked a relatively easy wedge shot into a monster greenside bunker and then blasted over the green. A poor chip left him off the putting surface after five shots and he ended up with a double bogey seven.
While he birdied two holes on the back side he also made two bogeys and another double bogey.
Matt Jones kept his hopes of a top five finish and progression to the Tour Championship alive with a 70 keeping him at two-under.
Marc Leishman needs a miracle over the final two rounds after his 70 left him at two-over in a tie for 45th.
World No.1 Tiger Woods was slapped with a two-shot penalty on his first hole, leaving him with a quadruple bogey eight, as he settled in a tie for 13th at four-under.
