CONCORD, Mass. (AP) – Tom Purtzer is cruising right along again on the Champions Tour.

With the senior circuit’s cart ban lifted because of temperatures in the mid-90s, Purtzer rode to an 8-under-par 64 on Saturday to take the lead after two rounds of the Bank of America Championship. R.W. Eaks shot 65 and Mark McNulty shot 69 to sit one stroke back at the par-72, 6,728-yard Nashawtuc Country Club.

Purtzer, who has a sliding disc in his back that acts up when he walks the course, bounced in a 9-iron from 147 yards out on No. 7 to improve to 4-under, then followed that with consecutive birdies before making the turn.

Furyk, Harrington share Barclays Classic lead

HARRISON, N.Y. – Jim Furyk finally has some company at the top of the Barclays Classic leaderboard.

Padraig Harrington grabbed a share of the third-round lead Saturday, shooting a 3-under 68 to match Furyk at 9-under 204 on the sun-baked Westchester Country Club course. Furyk, the leader after each of the first two rounds, had a 70.

Furyk is winless since returning from a serious wrist injury a year ago.

, shot a 65 on Thursday to open a three-stroke lead and had a 69 on Friday to take a two-stroke advantage into the weekend.

“I thought it played more difficult than the first two rounds,” Furyk said. “I just kind of got it around. The back nine was playing very demanding.”

After Harrington, playing a group ahead of Furyk, holed a 30-foot birdie chip from the fringe on the par-3 16th to take the lead, Furyk regained a share of the top spot with a 9-foot birdie putt on the same hole. Harrington pulled ahead again with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 18th, and Furyk matched him, holing a short putt after playing his third shot out of the left greenside bunker.

Brad Faxon (66) and Brian Gay (71) were two strokes back at 7 under.

The 43-year-old Faxon, winless since the 2001 Sony Open, has only one top-20 finish in 16 events this year, a sixth-place tie in the Honda Classic.

“You think you should eat this place up, but nobody does,” Faxon said.

Vijay Singh was 5 under after a 69. Tied for the lead at 8 under after 12 holes, the 1993 and 1995 winner had a double-bogey 6 on No. 13 and a bogey on No. 16.

On the 418-yard 13th, the second-ranked Singh drove into the thick right-side rough, hit his second shot into knee-high grass 100 yards short of the green and advanced the ball only 20 yards with his third.

Harrington, a nine-time winner on the European tour who won the Honda Classic in March for his first PGA Tour title, lost a playoff to Sergio Garcia last year in his first appearance in the tournament.

“I like old old-style, tree-lined golf courses like this,” Harrington said. “It seems to really fit my eye well. I grew up on this style of greens.”

Furyk bogeyed the par-4 15th after hitting his approach shot well short into the right front bunker, but rebounded with his 9-foot birdie putt on No. 16.

“I made a mistake on 15 with a wedge in my hands,” Furyk said.

Furyk has not won since the 2003 Buick Open, two months after his major victory at Olympia Fields. He has come close twice this season, tying for second in consecutive starts – including a playoff loss to Vijay Singh in the Wachovia Championship.

Kenny Perry and Australia’s John Senden shot 72s to join Singh at 5 under, and Dean Wilson (66), Pat Perez (68), Brett Quigley (68) and Len Mattiace (73) were 4 under. Senden eagled the par-5 fifth hole to take the lead at 9 under, but bogeyed four of the final 13 holes to drop back.

Divots: Furyk had surgery on his left wrist in March 2004. He has nine PGA Tour titles. … Garcia, also the 2001 champion, was 3 over after a 73. … The tournament has been decided in playoffs five of the last seven years, with Garcia beating Rory Sabbatini on the third extra hole last year after Harrington was eliminated on the second. … U.S. Amateur champion Ryan Moore was 5 over after a 73. He turned pro this week after tying for 57th in the U.S. Open. … The players were grouped in threesomes in an attempt to speed up play. … Corey Pavin followed his Friday-best 64 with a 74 to drop to 2 over. He shot a 77 on Thursday.


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