Furyk's furious charge leaves him with lead at BMW Championship

ST. LOUIS -- Jim Furyk only wanted to give himself a chance in the BMW Championship, and it took 36 holes to do it on a marathon Saturday at Bellerive that put him atop the leaderboard for the first time all year.

Whether he stays there when everyone finishes the third round is still to be determined.

Furyk finished with five straight birdies to set the course record at Bellerive with an 8-under 62 in the second round, then followed with a 66 that put him at 12-under 198 and gave him the clubhouse lead.

Camilo Villegas, who shot 66 in the morning for a one-shot lead through 36 holes, also was 12 under and had five holes left in the third round when play was suspended by darkness.

He will have to return Sunday morning to finish his round in a tournament twice interrupted by weather. Rain kept the BMW Championship from starting until Friday, and the plan for everyone to play 36 holes on Saturday was disrupted by a 90-minute fog delay in the morning.

But it was packed with all kinds of drama.

Sergio Garcia made the first hole-in-one of his professional career, a 5-iron from 205 yards on the third hole in the morning that put him into the mix. Bart Bryant made an ace in the afternoon, on No. 13, four holes after learning he had been docked a two-shot penalty simply for opening his mouth.

Camilo Villegas is at 12 under with five holes left to go in the third round. (Getty Images)

Martin Laird tamped down his own pitch mark on the fringe of the 16th green during the second round, which he was not supposed to do because it was in the line of Bryant's ball in the rough. The fact Bryant said, "Yes" when Laird asked if it was in his line meant Bryant was penalized because he allowed his line to be improved.

Laird was not disqualified because it was not his intent to help Bryant, who chipped well over the mark.

Crazy? Certainly.

Much more steady was Furyk, who hit 24 consecutive fairways off the tee until he started to tire at the end of a long day and found the rough on the 18th hole. He could not advance it to the green, came up short with a wedge and was thrilled to sink a tricky 5-footer for bogey.

He played 36 holes and took only 128 shots. Of equal importance is that he didn't have to return Sunday morning. Villegas and Brian Gay, who was 10 under with three holes remaining, were among 23 players that were to resume the third round at 7:30 a.m.

"I'm tired," Furyk said. "I like the idea of getting some sleep."