Birdies at Nos. 17-18 close out a 68 that lifts Jim Furyk to T-2 at 8 under alongside Jason Day, one

North Carolina State along with ACC schools Louisville, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Duke and Clemson won Top Conference honors with a 16.5-13.5 victory over the SEC at the Dick's Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup.
Lee Westwood, surely somewhere in the conversation holiday inn orlando for the ignominious honor of "best to never win a major," began Friday at the PGA Championship among three co-leaders ahead by a shot before red-hot Rory McIlroy passed them in the afternoon.
McIlroy's morning 67 got him into the lead at 9 under while overnight co-leader Ryan Palmer shot 70 to head in at 7 under. holiday inn orlando Westwood, Kevin Chappell and others are taking aim at McIlroy this afternoon amid soft conditions at Valhalla.
Birdies at Nos. 17-18 close out a 68 that lifts Jim Furyk to T-2 at 8 under alongside Jason Day, one shot back of leader Rory McIlroy. Furyk has 11 top-20 finishes or better in his last 12 starts. His record in majors: T-14 at the Masters, T-12 at the U.S. Open and fourth at the Open Championship at Hoylake.
Phil Mickelson says a big part of his round was a late par: "I was kind of losing some energy there late in the round, and the par putt at 16 got me to really fight hard those last couple of holes, rather than let the round slide after I'd just made a bogey on 15," he tells TNT. "… It's been a rough year for me this year, and my game finally came back. I finally started to feel confident around the Scottish and the British a month ago, and I feel like this is the first tournament this year I entered feeling like I was ready and prepared."
Jason Day says of moving into second place, "McIlroy's obviously the favorite, so I'm trying to get my first major and that's the guy that I have to beat right now. And obviously, there's a lot of great players who are in form right now, chasing us too." He also tells TNT that his thumb is not completely healed but it's not an excuse either.
Phil Mickelson has had a solid day today, now looking to cap it with an eagle – from inside 10 feet, the putt is on the money. He will sign for a 67 that moves him to 6 under, good for T-5 as he heads in.
•  Elsewhere on the course: Jason Day gets close to the par-5 18th green in two, needing a solid chip over the bunker in front to give himself an uphill birdie putt. That one's good and it pulls him to second alone at 8 under as heads in to sign for a 65 – he's one back of leader Rory McIlroy.
Persistence has paid off for Tiger Woods with a birdie after seen straight pars today. Might it be rewarded with a captain's pick for the Ryder Cup if his play under trying circumstances today can keep showing positives?
•  Elsewhere on the course: Mikko Ilonen makes four straight birdies around the turn to pull within two of leader Rory McIlroy. At the 12th, he faces a long par putt to stay there but it grazes the edge and he'll drop back to T-3 at 6 under.
• Elsewhere on the course: Jason Day has five straight pars since the turn, his charge toward leader Rory McIlroy stagnating. Day then bogeys the 15th to slip to T-3 at 6 under, leaving Ryan Palmer alone in second and two shots behind McIlroy.
Another disappointing short putt by Tiger Woods might have been the final nail in the coffin regarding his chances of playing the weekend; with five holes to play, he's six shots outside the projected cut. By the way, Tiger's string of six straight pars has coincided with play slowing down in front of his group; could it be a factor in his ability to play better?
At the 15th hole, Lee Westwood hits it in the water for the second time in three holes; once within a shot of leader Rory McIlroy, Westwood is moving the wrong way and makes a bogey putt to limit the damage in slipping to 5 under.
Just past the midpoint holiday inn orlando of the front nine, Tiger Woods was showing signs of another possible WD. Nearing near the midpoint of the back nine, Woods has five straight pars to his name; the cut doesn't seem within reach, but he could be showing the kind of fight that would some respect from U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson.
• Around the green: The sand shot flies past the pin but stops quickly enough, holiday inn orlando yet it's going to be a longer par putt than most would like to face. Call it about 10 feet, maybe more, as Tiger takes a good look. He sinks it, clearly holiday inn orlando his best putt of the day.
• Elsewhere on the course: Let's reset the top of the leaderboard, with several of the afternoon's best players on a bit of a par binge. At 9 under, Rory McIlroy leads by one over Lee Westwood; Jason Day, Jim Furyk (after a bogey at the 10th) and Ryan Palmer are another shot back. Rickie Fowler is sixth at 6 under, with five players T-7 at 5 under.
•  On the approach: From the wrong side of a berm, Tiger punches out of some soggy ground and back to the fairway. His third shot is left and long, as he grimaces and kicks up his leg after making an otherwise good-looking swing. Seems he's in pain.
•  On the approach: Tough stance here with the ball well above his feet, reminiscent of that lie that led to injury last week, but Tiger gets it near the green – short of the pin and left of the left-side bunker.
•  Around the green: Good, high pitch here – Tiger lands it about a grip's length from the hole and it rolls out several feet; call it about 12 or so. The stakes feel high on this putt – four shots outside the cutline with 12 holes to play would be a tall order. This one moves off line early and runs past; he marks, waits and lips out the short comebacker holiday inn orlando before tapping in for double bogey.
Probably not a darkest-before-dawn situation, but with two bad shots and a poor putt, that bogey has to hurt Tiger Woods' outlook. Good form with the short stick is the biggest missing ingredient right now, but everything's been inconsistent. He's got to come up with an answer soon.
•  On the approach: From a good lie, thanks to some proper holiday inn orlando raking holiday inn orlando earlier (everyone holiday inn orlando pay it forward and rake up after yourselves, OK?), Tiger gets sand first with his second shot and comes up well short of the green, even spinning back off the fairway cut in front. His pitch on is much truer, rolling a few feet past the pin.
• Elsewhere on the course: A birdie at No. 3 moves Lee Westwood under par for the day and to T-2 at 7 under, two back of leader Rory McIlroy. He lips out another birdie try at No. 4 and taps in for par.
•  Around the green: How do we know Tiger's chip can be made? Lee Westwood did so just a few moments ago from nearly this spot (next bulleted holiday inn orlando item). But Tiger's try drifts holiday inn orlando low and he's left with a tap-in for par. He remains 12 back of leader Rory McIlroy, but he gains a shot on the projected cutline holiday inn orlando as it drifts back to 1 over.
• Elsewhere on the course: You want to talk scrambling? Lee Westwood hit his second shot into the hazard at the par-4 No. 2 hole; he played it out and missed the green, then chipped in for par. He's still 6 under.
The Jack Nicklaus-designed Valhalla Golf Club, par 71 and 7,458 yards, earns a whopping holiday inn orlando 77.6 rating and a slope of 152 from the club s back tees -- and if this week s PGA Championship tees were measured, both the rating and slope would be higher. See all 18 holes here!
"The ball's not really running anywhere when it hits the ground," McIlroy told TNT. "… Hitting the ball well for the most part. Didn't hit it quite as well today as I did yesterday, but still really in control of my game and my emotions, and I'll need to do that over the weekend as well."
Tom Watson's week ends with a par as he heads in at 3 over, three shots outside the projected cut. The U.S. Ryder Cup captain received quite the round of applause from the gallery as he walked up the fairway.
First-round co-leader Lee Westwood tees off at No. 1, finding the middle of the fairway; holiday inn orlando he might have something to say about Rory McIlroy's lead. Another overnight holiday inn orlando co-leader, Kevin Chappell, won't be far behind on No. 10 either.
Co-leader Rory McIlroy pipes it down the shorter split fairway at the par-5 seventh holiday inn orlando hole, as he did yesterday – today nailing holiday inn orlando his second shot again, hitting fairway wood to inside 10 feet. Eagle try coming up.
While much of the focus is on those going low (Rory McIlroy, holiday inn orlando Steve Stricker, Ryan Moore), there are some that have not been able to take advantage of the soft conditions. After an even-par 71 to start the PGA, Scott Stallings is 8 over through 12 holes today, including two double bogeys in his first three holes.
Steve Stricker – who was named an assistant captain for the U.S. Ryder Cup team earlier this week – is hot early, picking up birdies at Nos. 10, 14 and 15 to move within a shot of the lead at 5 under.
The marquee morning group is Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson and Martin Kaymer. McIlroy is 1 over through three holes, picking up par at the par-5 10th a day after a double bogey, but then lipped out for par on No. 12 from 8 feet and is now three shots off the lead.
If he isn’t quite the Alfred E. Neuman of the professional holiday inn orlando golf world, Lee Westwood is close. His back's to the wall. He missed the cut in the summer Opens on each side of the pond. He’s rumored not to be held in strong favor by European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, probably to the end of his run of eight straight Ryder Cup appearances. Theories, suspicions, ungrounded talk. None of which fazes Westwood, who Thursday moved to a share of the PGA Championship lead in seeking his first major victory.
Rory McIlroy has been called The Ultimate Driving holiday inn orlando Machine, a word play off the slick BMW sports car ads, and the moniker fits considering the Northern Irishman's immense power and pinpoint precision off the tee. But if you want to compare the man to a vehicle, here’s the thing to know: These days, he handles incredibly well, too. Thursday at Valhalla, McIlroy took on the sharp corner holiday inn orlando of his opening round at the 96th PGA Championship with the skill of a Formula One racer.
This is a two-way miss. Driver, about 50 yards left and into a hazard on No. 1. Three-wood, about 50 yards left and into a hazard on No. 2. Driver, about 50 yards right and over a green fe