Furyk, Perry and Quigley share Buick Open lead

Grand Blanc, MI (Sports Network) - Kenny Perry caught fire, then stumbled to a bogey on his last hole to join Jim Furyk and Brett Quigley in the lead after two rounds of the Buick Open.
Still struggling to get back to form following knee surgery last year, Perry scorched Warwick Hills for a nine-under 63 on Friday, bolstered by a key eagle putt and a stretch where he made five birdies in seven holes.
Furyk bookended a three-hole birdie run with a pair of unfortunate bogeys and shot a four-under 68. Quigley finished with a three-under 69 after managing just seven pars and a bogey on his last eight holes.
The trio were knotted at 10-under 134, leading three players by a shot.
"The scores are bunched up there pretty tight," said Furyk, making his first start since a runner-up at the U.S. Open. "The opportunity is there for us to fire low numbers."
And there have been plenty.
Forty-five players were five-under or better, including first-round leader Rocco Mediate (71), Scott Verplank (69) and Brian Bateman (70), who were tied for fourth place at nine-under 135.
Steve Elkington (70), Lucas Glover (68) and Woody Austin (71) were another shot further back at 136.
Even without Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh in the field -- they won five of the last 10 Buick Opens -- the average score has dipped below par on both days. The cut line fell at three-under par Friday, with players like Charles Howell III and Trevor Immelman not making the weekend.
It is one of the PGA Tour's most notorious shootouts.
"The way it's going now, [the winning score] will probably be 20-under. So we've got to make a lot of birdies," said Quigley.
Which is how Perry played his round Friday. After starting on No. 10, he collected five birdies to make the turn in just 31 shots, then added three more birdies in his first six holes on the front nine.
When he rolled in an improbable 50-foot birdie putt at No. 6, Perry joined three players who were one shot off the lead, shared by Quigley and Furyk at the time.
At the par-five seventh, Perry knocked a 276-yard shot within 14 feet to set up an eagle putt that vaulted him above the co-leaders at 11-under par.
"The hole got really big for me, and I was making putts all over the place," said Perry, who needed just 22 putts to finish his round.
Perry also shot 63 in final round of the Memorial four weeks ago to finish tied for third place. Struggling with a right knee injury, it was his first top-10 finish in two years.
"That told me that I still had something in me. It re-energized me," Perry said. "But this was a magical round, too."
Quigley held the lead by himself until Furyk -- and especially Perry -- caught fire later in the day. He had four birdies in 10 holes, then played the last eight at one-over par.
When he lipped out a 16-foot par putt at the 16th, Quigley fell into a tie with Furyk at 10-under. Not too long after that, Perry made his eagle at No. 7 to moved past both of them.
"It takes a little pressure off me, not being (alone) in the lead," said Quigley, who also led after 36 holes last year.
Still looking for his first PGA Tour win in 16 years as a pro, the 37-year-old Quigley, who owns two Nationwide Tour titles, is getting used to answering questions about his career-long dry spell.
"I just have to stay in the process," he said. "That's the big thing for me. If I'm worried about winning, I've got no chance."
Furyk, the No. 3 player in the world, hasn't won since last year's Canadian Open. After making a bogey at No. 11, he collected three consecutive birdies from the 12th hole, including two straight from inside five feet.
But Furyk stumbled to another bogey from the rough at the par-four 15th, dropping back to 10-under.
"I hit some poor shots on the back nine. I got a little loose and I'm a disappointed about that," said Furyk. "It's disappointing, but you're going to make bogeys.
"I've also made 13 birdies in two rounds, so hopefully I can keep that going."
Furyk and the other leaders will have to keep making birdies this weekend if they hope to squeeze out a victory in what will surely remain a mad dash for low scores.
"It will be a shootout," Furyk said.