JIM FURYK

'Jim Furyk'
'Personal Information'
'Birth'
West Chester, Pennsylvania
'Height'
'Weight'
'Nationality'
'Wife' Tabitha
'Children' Caleigh Lynn (6/24/02)
Tanner James (12/12/03)
'Residence' Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
'College' University of Arizona
Career
'Turned Pro' 1992
'Current tour' PGA Tour (joined 1992)
'Professional wins' 21 (PGA Tour: 13, other individual: 8)
Best Results in Major Championships
Wins: 1
Masters 4th: 1998, 2003
U.S. Open 'Won' 2003
British Open 4th/T4: 1997, 1998, 2006
PGA Championship T6: 1997
Awards
Vardon Trophy 2006

'James Michael Furyk' (born May 12, 1970) is an American professional golfer, known for consistently playing at the top level and for a visibly unconventional, looping golf swing. In September 2006 he reached a career high of second in the Official World Golf Rankings.[1]

Contents
Biography
The Swing
Major Championships
Wins (1)
Results timeline
Summary of major championship performances
Results in World Golf Championship Events
PGA Tour career summary
PGA Tour wins (13)
Other wins (8)
National team appearances
References
See also
External links

Biography


Furyk was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. His early years were spent in the Pittsburgh suburbs learning the game from his father, who was head pro at Uniontown Country Club near Pittsburgh. He graduated from Manheim Township High School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1988 where he was a standout basketball player in addition to being a state champion golfer. He attended the University of Arizona and turned professional in 1992.
Furyk won at least one tournament each year on the PGA Tour between 1998 and 2003. At the time, this was the second best streak of winning seasons behind Tiger Woods and he made the top ten in the Official World Golf Rankings. Furyk's biggest win to date came on June 16, 2003, when he tied the record for the lowest 72-hole score in U.S. Open history to win his first major championship.
In 2004 he only played in fourteen events after missing three months due to surgery to repair cartilage damage in his wrist and he fell out of the top hundred on the money list, but he returned to good form in 2005 and regained his top ten ranking, winning a PGA Tour event in that year and two in 2006.
In the 2006 season, he finished a career-high second on the money list and won the Vardon Trophy for the first time. He also had a career-best thirteen top-10 finishes, including nine top-3s, four second-place finishes, and two victories.
The only instructor he has ever used is his dad, Mike Furyk, which may account for his unusual swing. His caddy is Mike "Fluff" Cowan, who was Tiger Woods' caddy for Woods' first two years as a professional.
During the 2003 Buick Open on-course commentator Mike Hulbert interviewed Furyk from what appeared to be a snack bar during a rain delay while covering the early rounds on USA Network. Other players (who were not visible, nor identified) were in the room at the time of Furyk's interview and proceeded to throw popcorn at them from off camera as the interview progressed. At one point Furyk even held up a golf towel to block the popcorn as it got worse, and he stated that: "It looks like it's pick on Hubby day!"

The Swing


Furyk at the 2004 Ryder Cup

Jim Furyk's trademark golf swing involves a distinctive looping motion. At address, he would stand near the golf ball, with the ball right in front of the heel of the golf club. Since his body is near the ball, his arms then must travel vertically during the take-away. This leads to an unusually linear club position at the top, as the club is almost perpendicular to the ground. As Mike Furyk describes in a Golf Digest issue in 2001, Jim Furyk's hips "underturn" during the backswing and "overturn" coming down. At the downswing, he would draw a large arc behind his body (viewing from his right hand side), then paste his elbow against his right hip during impact (due to the closed setup), which is facing squarely to the target.
This move was controversial during Jim Furyk's early career; however, his father never forced him to change what came naturally to him. Jim Furyk's well-known ball-striking precision is now serving him well on the professional tour.
The commentator David Feherty memorably described Furyk's swing as "an octopus falling out of a tree".[2]

Major Championships


Wins (1)

'Year'Championship'54 Holes'Winning Score'Margin'Runners Up
2003 U.S. Open 3 shot lead -8 (67-66-67-72=272) 3 strokes Stephen Leaney

Results timeline

Tournament199419951996199719981999
The MastersDNPDNPT29T284T14
U.S. OpenT28DNPT5T5T14T17
The Open ChampionshipDNPDNPT454T4T10
PGA ChampionshipDNPT13T17T6CUTT8

Tournament20002001200220032004200520062007
The MastersT14T6CUT4DNP28T22T13
U.S. Open60T62CUT'1'T48T28T2T2
The Open ChampionshipT41CUTCUTCUTCUTCUT4T12
PGA ChampionshipT72T79T18CUTT34T29CUT

DNP = Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Summary of major championship performances


★ Starts - 48

★ Wins - 1

★ 2nd place finishes - 2

★ Top 3 finishes - 3

★ Top 5 finishes - 10

★ Top 10 finishes - 15

★ Longest streak of top-10s in majors - 4

Results in World Golf Championship Events


Tournament199920002001200220032004200520062007
Accenture Match Play ChampionshipR64R16DNPR16R16DNPR64R64R32
CA ChampionshipT11DNPDNPT33T12T36T154T35
Bridgestone InvitationalT10T42T6T6T22T243DNP

DNP = Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" = tied

R64 = 1st Round

R32 = 2nd Round

R16 = Round of 16

Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

PGA Tour career summary


Year Wins (Majors) Earnings ($) Rank
1994 0 236,603 78
1995 1 535,380 33
1996 1 738,950 26
1997 0 1,619,480 4
1998 1 2,054,334 3
1999 1 1,827,593 12
2000 1 1,940,519 17
2001 1 2,540,734 13
2002 1 2,363,250 14
2003 2 (1) 5,182,865 4
2004 0 691,675 116
2005 1 4,255,369 4
2006 2 7,213,316 2
2007
1 3,863,121 7
'Career
★ '
'13 (1)' '35,063,187' '5'

''
★ Through September 3, 2007''

PGA Tour wins (13)


'Legend'
Major Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (12)

'No.''Date''Tournament''Winning Score''Margin of Victory''Runners up'
1.Oct. 15, 1995Las Vegas Invitational-28 (67-65-65-67-67=331)1 stroke Billy Mayfair
2.Feb. 18, 1996United Airlines Hawaiian Open-11 (68-71-69-69=277)Playoff Brad Faxon
3.Oct. 18, 1998Las Vegas Invitational-25 (67-68-69-63-68=335)1 stroke Mark Calcavecchia
4.Oct. 17, 1999Las Vegas Invitational-29 (67-64-63-71-66=331)1 stroke Jonathan Kaye
5.Mar. 6, 2000Doral-Ryder Open-23 (65-67-68-65=265)2 strokes Franklin Langham
6.Jan. 14, 2001Mercedes Championships-14 (69-69-69-67=274)1 stroke Rory Sabbatini
7.May 24, 2002Memorial Tournament-14 (71-70-68-65=274)2 strokes John Cook, David Peoples
8.Jun. 15, 2003'U.S. Open'-8 (67-66-67-72=272)3 strokes Stephen Leaney
9.Aug. 3, 2003Buick Open-21 (68-66-65-68=267)2 strokes Briny Baird, Chris DiMarco, Geoff Ogilvy, Tiger Woods
10.Jul. 3, 2005Cialis Western Open-14 (64-70-67-69=270)2 strokes Tiger Woods
11.May. 7, 2006Wachovia Championship-12 (68-69-68-71=276)Playoff Trevor Immelman
12.Sept. 10, 2006Canadian Open-14 (63-71-67-65=266)1 stroke Bart Bryant
13.Jul. 29, 2007Canadian Open-16 (69-66-69-64=268)1 stroke Vijay Singh

Other wins (8)



★ 1993 (1) Nike Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic (Nike Tour)

★ 1995 (1) Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International

★ 1997 (1) Argentine Open

★ 1998 (1) Fred Meyer Challenge (with David Duval)

★ 2002 (1) Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Rich Beem and John Daly)

★ 2003 (1) PGA Grand Slam of Golf

★ 2005 (1) Nedbank Golf Challenge (South Africa - unofficial money event)

★ 2006 (1) Nedbank Golf Challenge (South Africa - unofficial money event)

National team appearances



Ryder Cup: 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006

The Presidents Cup: 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007

World Cup: 2003

References


1. Jim Furyk Wins the Canadian Open and is the New World Number Two, Official World Golf Ranking site, 11 September 2006.
2. Patience is pivotal for inconsistent Furyk, ''The Scotsman'', 18 July 2007

See also



Golfers with most PGA Tour wins

External links



Profile on the PGA Tour's official site

Results for the last two years from the Official World Golf Rankings site

Site featuring Jim's instructional Short Game video.

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