ATLANTA - Former Arizona Wildcat Jim Furyk headed to the first tee Saturday in the Tour Championship and heard his father and coach, Mike Furyk, give him a simple instruction to "just play golf."
It's a reminder he has uttered over the years not to get too caught up in mechanics or strive for the perfect swing, but to hit the ball, find it and get it in the hole as quickly as possible.
That might not be bad advice for today, either.
Just play golf. Don't think about the $10 million at stake.
Furyk twice walked off a green happy to make bogey, then made consecutive birdies late in his round that put him atop the leader board at East Lake.
He finished with an even-par 70 for a one-shot lead over Retief Goosen and Luke Donald.
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That set the stage for a FedEx Cup finale that has never had so many possibilities.
Furyk, Goosen and Donald can win the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus by winning the Tour Championship, which comes with a $1.35 million prize of its own. So can Geoff Ogilvy, only three shots behind. And Paul Casey and Charley Hoffman, both within five shots of the lead, can win golf's biggest payoff without winning the tournament.
Players should have a pretty good idea what they need to do during the final round.
"The first part of the scenario is I have to win, and the rest of it I can't control," Furyk said. "So the idea, really ... it makes it very simple. I have to win tomorrow, and the idea is just to go out and do the best I can."
Furyk was at 8-under 202, and a victory today could be a real breakthrough. He has never won three times in a season, and his third PGA Tour title this year might warrant strong consideration for player of the year.
Even so, Furyk is aware not only of how many players are behind, but how many possibilities exist.
• A victory gives Furyk or Goosen the FedEx Cup, as long as Casey isn't the runner-up or Hoffman doesn't finish third alone.
• Donald can win the cup as long as Matt Kuchar, the top seed, doesn't finish second. Kuchar shot a 72 and was 10 shots behind.
• Ogilvy, who shot a 72 and was three shots behind at 5-under 205, can win the $10 million provided Casey isn't second, Hoffman isn't third and Kuchar doesn't find a way to finish seventh.
"In the past, we had an idea who was going to win, or who had already won," Goosen said, referring to Tiger Woods in 2007 and 2009, and Vijay Singh in 2008, when the points system was such that the Fijian had already clinched the cup when he arrived at East Lake.
It starts with playing well on today, when the tee times will be early because rain is in the forecast, and that could dramatically change the fast, firm conditions.
And as Donald showed in the third round, it all can change so quickly.
The Englishman was never out of the lead until he dumped his third shot into the bunker on the par-5 15th. He blasted out to about 12 feet, then ran his par putt 3 feet by. Donald hit the next putt too firmly to catch the grain, and he walked off with a double bogey.
Furyk, who holed a 10-footer for birdie, suddenly had a two-shot lead.
"It was frustrating to give away a couple there," Donald said. "But I hit a lot of good shots today. I'm in great position - still just one back, and this is the last Sunday of the regular tour, and I've got a chance to win it all. So that's nice to know."
Champions Tour
CARY, N.C. - Russ Cochran shot a 5-under 67 in the SAS Championship on Saturday to increase his lead to four strokes, the largest 36-hole margin in the history of the event.
Cochran birdied the final two holes at Prestonwood Country Club to finish at 13 under.
Ted Schulz (68) was second. Tom Pernice Jr. (71) was 8 under with John Cook (64) and Nick Price (69).
European Tour
CHAMBOURCY, France - John Parry shot a 2-under 70 Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Mark Haastrup and Johan Edfors in the Vivendi Cup.
Parry, 23, was 15 under at Golf de Joyenval Club. Haastrup shot a 66; Edfors had a 67.
TV TODAY
• What: The Tour Championship, final round
• When: 8:30 a.m. on Golf Channel, 10:30 a.m. on Channel 4
