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A real Jim dandy Putting-star Furyk a player to watch at Buick Classic
Posted: Monday June 21, 1999 02:29 PM
By Benjamin Berman, CNN/SI His swing may not be pretty, his play may not be glamorous, but Jim Furyk's results are outstanding. The 1999 PGA Media Guide refers to Furyk's swing as "unorthodox," but so what? Maybe he is the most easily recognized on the course (except for Payne Stewart and his knickers) for his odd follow through. This is probably because his father, who taught Furyk to play the game, has been his only coach. Still, why would one of the PGA's elite players change the swing that has made him of the best? The fact remains he can play the game as well as anybody and better than most. Furyk is this week's Player to Watch as the Tour travels to Harrison, N.Y. for the Buick Classic. Furyk was a runner-up at Buick in 1998, losing to J.P. Hayes in a weather-shortened playoff after 54 holes. Furyk has been playing well in 1999. He may not have a win, but he's been right there almost every week. In the 14 events he's played in this year, Furyk has missed just one cut -- at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am -- and he has made the weekend in his last ten events. In all Furyk has finished three times in the top 10 and nine times in the top 25, with his best performance coming at the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic in late April. His four-straight rounds in the 60s -- 63 on Friday -- was good for second. His 21-under total would have tied the old course record if not for Jesper Parnevik's 23-under total. One of the better putters on Tour, Furyk is having an off year with the flatstick after finishing ninth in putting last year. He ranks 18th on Tour in putts per round with a 28.41 average.
His ranks No. 23 in PGA earnings in '99 with $786,835. His all-around ranking in statistics is No. 51, down from sixth last year. But with a golfer like Furyk, it's only a matter of time. He's scoring average is No. 7 on Tour at 69.71 and his 74.9-percent driving accuracy is No. 11. And recently he has been playing better. At last week's U.S. Open Championship, Furyk finished tied for 17th at 11 over, but would have been in the hunt if not for a third-round 77. In a year where caddies have been a hot topic, Furyk may have made his best approach in 1999 off the fairway and in the clubhouse. His new caddie, Mike "Fluff" Cowan, is as good as it gets on the bag. Cowan became world-renown carrying the bag for Tiger Woods for two-plus years, after spending a long tenure with PGA-great Peter Jacobsen. Good guy to have on the bag, solid numbers on the course, why isn't Furyk winning? Simply put, he's been hot at the wrong time. Parnevik's course-record victory at Greensboro is a good example. He also had a strong showing at the Phoenix Open, but Rocco Mediate sizzled to a 273 total and the title. Furyk was in the hunt at the first event of the year -- the Mercedes Championship. David Duval won the event by nine strokes, but Furyk was right there. If not for a final-round 75, Furyk would have been right there with the red-hot Duval and as it turns out still had a strong showing. After turning professional in 1992, Furyk had a quiet beginning. He had three top-10 finishes in 1994, and finally won his first title at the Las Vegas Invitational in 1995, an event he also won in '98. In last year's campaign, Furyk broke out as an elite player on Tour. He had 12 top-10 finishes, which matched Duval for second on Tour. His $2,054,334 in earnings was good for third place on the money list. He also made the cut in 24 of 28 appearances. No stranger to first-place checks, Furyk has won three times on the PGA, once in Europe and once on the Nike circuit. At 29, it appears he hasn't even hit his prime. This week at the Buick Classic, like so many other weeks, Jim Furyk is a Player to Watch.
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