Furyk looks forward to duel with McDowell

Furyk won’t get caught up in even a friendly duel with Graeme McDowell in the final round of the US Open, knowing his biggest foe will be the Olympic Club course itself.

Over three rounds Olympic’s Lake Course has pummelled the world’s best golfers. Only Furyk and McDowell head into the final round under par, sharing the lead on one-under 209, with Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson two strokes back.

“I like Graeme a lot,” said Furyk, the 2003 US Open champion who was paired with 2010 winner McDowell in the first two rounds here. “I have a lot of respect for him and his game. I enjoy playing golf with him. I think it’s a great pair for tomorrow.” In fact, the two sounded like a mutal admiration society, with Furyk welcoming McDowell’s verdict that the American’s “plodding” style was just what a US Open required.

“He actually saw me in the locker room and said, ‘I don’t know what they told you in the press room, but I meant everything as a compliment and I didn’t want it to come across the wrong way,’” Furyk said. Furyk soothed McDowell’s fears and “joked with him that I said some nice stuff about him -- but if I needed to retract it I could always go back.” In fact, Furyk knew just what McDowell meant - and that McDowell’s an excellent plodder, too.

“On a golf course like this, you have to go from spot to spot and it doesn’t have to look or be fancy. It has to work.

“I think we have styles of games where we put the ball into play, we put the ball on the green and take our chance at the putt and then move on.”

Furyk expected their friendly relations to make for a relaxed pairing on Sunday, but the exacting nature of the course and the prize at stake meant there would be little time for any sort of socializing.

The 42-year-old veteran got plenty of practice keeping his focus when he played in the final group with Tiger Woods on Saturday. The two started the day in a three-way tie for the lead with David Toms. Woods slipped back with a five-over 75, to the dismay of his legion of fans.

AFP