Golf

Finishing school: Furyk beats final-round woes

By BOB HARIG
Published May 9, 2006

[Times photo: Getty Images]

Jim Furyk's victory Sunday at the Wachovia Championship was his 11th PGA Tour title and snapped a skid of six straight playoff losses.

Long regarded as one of the game's top players, especially since his breakthrough major championship win at the U.S. Open three years ago, Jim Furyk is a gritty competitor with a funky swing who makes the most of what he has got.

But winning was not always the result, which is why Sunday's playoff victory over Trevor Immelman at the Wachovia Championship was so big.

"It's nice to come out and get it done this time," he said.

Furyk moved to No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking on Monday, but his lofty status was not always apparent in his ability to close.

Three weeks ago, Furyk led by two with seven holes to play at the Verizon Heritage, only to lose to Aaron Baddeley.

That was his fourth top-10 finish of the year. A week before, at the Masters, Furyk made the cut on the number, shot a third-round 68 to get into contention and trailed by four without having to play extra holes Sunday morning. He shot 75.

Before that, Furyk was the 36-hole leader at the Players Championship but shot a third-round 75 before finishing tied for third. He was also third at the Mercedes Championship, tied for seventh at the Sony Open and tied for 12th at the Nissan Open.

Sunday's victory makes it all look a lot better. He moved to third in the U.S. Ryder Cup team standings and will be on the team for the fifth time, with Tiger Woods as a likely partner.

Furyk has 11 PGA Tour titles, his most recent before Sunday was in July at the Western Open. He had been 1-6 in PGA Tour playoffs, including six straight defeats. (He did win the unofficial Nedbank Challenge in South Africa in a playoff in the fall, chipping in on the second extra hole to defeat Adam Scott, Retief Goosen and Darren Clarke.) He lost twice in playoffs last year.

That helps explain why Furyk has won more than once in a season just one time, in 2003, the year he won the U.S. Open and the Buick Open.

"I just like to win," Furyk said. "Eleven (wins) sounds better than 10. This was No. 11. So that was it."

Treasure Island's Bud Chapman tied for second on Saturday at the Shoot Your Age Championship at the Villages. Chapman, 83, shot 80, which means he was 3 under par. Leonard Luken, 87, of Hilton Head, S.C., won the competition by shooting 81, which was 6 under his age.

Chapman led the qualifying Thursday with 10-under (his age) 73. That got him in a group with Arnold Palmer, 76, who shot 73 to tie for second along with Chapman and Joe Cheves, 87, who shot 84. Archie Swanson, 87, of Crystal River, finished sixth by shooting his age.

This is PGA Free Lesson month, which means you can get a free 10-minute lesson from participating pros. There are dozens in the Tampa Bay area who are offering the deal. They can be located by going online at playgolfamerica.com, entering your zip code and clicking free lesson month and search. The names and numbers of pros within 20 miles will be listed.

Seminole's Brittany Lincicome now has two top 10s in the past month after her tie for 10th Sunday at the Franklin American Mortgage Championship. The $20,245 she earned pushed her season earnings to $124,813, which is less than $3,000 behind her total for all of 2005. Lincicome is 24th on the LPGA Tour money list. ... Phil Mickelson has decided to skip this week's Byron Nelson Championship after a lackluster performance at the Wachovia Championship. The Masters champion will return for the Memorial in three weeks and is scheduled to play three straight, including the U.S. Open. ... Vijay Singh shot 81 during the final round of the Wachovia, his highest score on tour since he shot 84 during the second round of the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie. ... David Duval's tie for 22nd was his best of the year and his best since a tie for 13th in 2004 at the Deutsche Bank Championship. ... Lucas Glover, who captured his first PGA Tour title in the fall at Disney, is sixth in the U.S. Ryder Cup team standings after a tie for fourth at Wachovia.

[Last modified May 9, 2006, 00:41:15]