Furyk & Funk lead with opening 68's

Depending on how you want to slice it, Jim Furyk is either a brave or reckless man. A first-time father of 11 weeks, he has traveled with his wife and infant child to the past two tournaments.

For a guy who lives out of a suitcase in hotel rooms as a career, that sounds like a recipe for long restless nights -- unless he likes sleeping in two-hour stretches and awaking to the siren sounds of a wailing waif.

"Actually," his wife Tabitha said as she cradled daughter Caleigh, "she sleeps pretty well."

Whether Daddy caught any Zs on Thursday night is still open to question, what with him being the overnight co-leader of the 84th PGA Championship, where a win would easily rank as the biggest victory on his professional resume.

Tabitha already delivered. Will Papa, too?

Furyk shares the first-round lead with fellow Ponte Vedra Beach veteran Fred Funk after both breezed through the Hazeltine National layout with matching 4-under-par 68s. At an event that has produced 11 first-time major-championship winners in the past 14 years, these two also fit that bill.

Furyk, in fact, hasn't made a cut in the three previous majors this year, testament to a largely schizophrenic year that also includes a victory at the prestigious Memorial Tournament. He missed a month with an inner-ear infection, has posted six top-10 finishes and is a Ryder Cup member. But he never played on the weekend at the Masters, U.S. Open or British Open.

"It's been a good year and a frustrating year, all in one," he said. "So it's been kind of a roller-coaster ride."

Funk is just happy to have a ticket to the theme park because the popular veteran didn't qualify to play in the other three majors. Funk made every putt he saw on Thursday, finishing with 24, which included a testy 10-footer to save par on his final hole. It prompted a fist-pump and little dance step.

Just like that, Furyk and Funk stood atop the huge scoreboard at No. 18 while players such as pre-tournament favorite Tiger Woods were in arrears. The pair lead by a shot over Orlando's Peter Lonard and 22-year-old Englishman Justin Rose, a protégé of Orlando swing guru David Leadbetter.

"We were noticing on the TV screen before they interviewed in the studio, saying all of the F-Us are on top," cracked Funk, 46, drawing huge laughs. "Hopefully, we can stay up there."

While Woods fought his driver, Furyk had four birdies on his back nine, highlighted when he knocked his 8-iron to within 25 feet or closer on Nos. 1, 2 and 6 and converted. This is called striking while the iron is hot.

"The 8-iron's looking pretty good," Furyk said.

Not so his loopy and non-traditional swing, of course, which has been lampooned so often that even Furyk finds the jokes humorous. Asked which descriptions he likes best, he repeated the lines of CBS commentator David Feherty, who once said that Furyk's swing "looks like an octopus falling out of a tree. Or like a man trying to kill a snake in a phone booth."

Laugh now, but he and Funk definitely fit the PGA profile of recent winners. The event has produced a string of champions such as Vijay Singh, Davis Love and David Toms, accomplished professionals who notched their first major at the season's final Grand Slam tournament. Funk has five career PGA Tour victories while Furyk, who has seven wins, seems like another natural.

"I like the way you're thinking," Furyk quipped.

Nobody knew what to think when the weather horn sounded at 9:38 a.m. EDT, at which point Woods had hit exactly one shot. When play was suspended because of darkness at 9:19 p.m., 39 players were still on the course, including Greg Norman and Lake Nona's Retief Goosen, who were both 2 under with four holes to play.

Play is set to resume today at 8:30 a.m., with the second round scheduled to start 15 minutes later. During the 2:52 delay, the field retreated to the clubhouse, where Furyk watched replays of past PGA Championships on The Golf Channel.

"We were making fun of everyone and the clothes they wore back then," Furyk said.

If the girl in swaddling clothes keeps quiet for a few more nights, maybe they'll be talking about a Furyk win at the PGA a few years hence.

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