Tag Archives: Jim Furyk

Duval Calls Out Slow Players by Name

by Scott

So… David Duval has made his feelings clearly known in the social media about the slow-play penalty issued to 14-yr-old Tianlang Guan last Friday at the Masters, sharing an opinion that Yours Truly tends to agree with as well (not listed in his Twitter conversation below). Except Duval took it a step further and did the unthinkable by calling out who he felt was the slowest players by name, while also adding that the rules officials should be timing the players to keep the pace moving at a tolerable level. Double D begins his slow-play rant at the bottom, then continues commenting to the top.

Duval via Twitter

Duval via Twitter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although the penalty assessed to Guan was a regrettable circumstance given the nature of his age, the significance of what he was attempting to do, where he was attempting to do it, etc., it’s not that he wasn’t given a fair warning ahead of time. The 14-yr-old was warned on two occasions that he was playing too slowly before the slow-play penalty was assessed. The primary issue that I had with the way this was mishandled is that there are others, as Duval mentioned, who have far greater reputations of being slow players in their own rights, players who were in the field that afternoon and dare I say – players who likely took as much time to hit a shot as Guan did.

The selective manner in which they singled out a young kid, who as Colin Montgomery said during the SKY Sports telecast of the Masters was the most “vulnerable” player in the field given his age – that’s the thing that really set me off about it.

As amateurs, we’re very familiar with the frustrations that come with 5+ hour rounds, the endless waiting on tee boxes and fairways while we wait for those slower groups up ahead. The sad truth of the matter is that the facilities where we play nowadays have no desire to police the slow groups with course rangers to help keep things moving along at an acceptable pace. It wasn’t always this way, however. I recall the first few years of my golf experience, as the public course I played quite regularly employed course rangers to ensure that everyone got around in four-and-a-half hours or less. On numerous occasions, I myself got more than an earful from the course rangers about the need to get back into proper position on the golf course, and you’d best believe that I did everything within my power to oblige their demands. As I became a better player over the years, I looked back on those early lessons learned and realize how valuable they were for the greater good of the game itself.

As it relates to the situation with Guan at the Masters back on Friday – sure, he probably deserved the penalty. But I can guarantee you that while he was being approached by the rules official and being notified of his infraction, several other players on the course were probably playing much slower than he was. Guan just happened to be a convenient example they could make of him, imo.

Moving forward, we can only hope that the PGA Tour takes the lead after witnessing what transpired Friday afternoon. The example that the notoriously slow players on Tour set on a weekly basis, several of whom were mentioned by Duval above, isn’t good for the younger players just taking up the game, nor is it good for all of us. The ability to enjoy a round of golf is a privilege, not a right. I think it’s high time that the caretakers of the game, including the seasoned players playing at their local clubs each week as well, start helping to clean up the mess that has been allowed for far too long.

Laird Wins Texas Open, Earns Last Minute Masters Invite

by Scott
Getty Images

Getty Images

The American dominance this season on the PGA Tour has officially ended, thanks to an incredible final round of golf that seemingly came from out of nowhere. Last week it was D.A. Points who somehow overcame a very rough start of the season to turn things completely around with a win at the Shell Houston Open, and on Sunday at the Valero Texas Open – it was Martin Laird’s turn. Laird began the final round Sunday 5 strokes back of Billy Horschel, who enjoyed a 2-shot lead heading into the final day of the tournament and seemed ready to pick up his first-ever PGA Tour win. But by the time Laird entered the back nine Sunday afternoon – it had turned into a 3-man race, with Laird and Horschel tied for the lead at 10-under par, and Rory McIlroy charging up the leaderboard at 9-under. Thanks to a birdie by Laird on the 13th, his 6th birdie of the round, and a bogey by Horschel on the 12th – Laird suddenly enjoyed a 2-shot lead and the only challenge at that point was to hold off McIlroy’s late charge.

A few wayward swings off the tee on two of the easier holes coming in would ultimately squash McIlroy’s bid to pick up an unlikely win on Sunday, but Laird took no chances. The Scot delivered the knockout punch by closing out his win with 3 consecutive birdies on the final three holes, shooting a remarkable final round of 9-under 63. McIlroy would finish solo 2nd with a solid round of 6-under 66, 12-under for the tournament, and Horschel’s lackluster 1-under on Sunday would ultimately leave him in a 3-way tie for third with Jim Furyk and Charley Hoffman.

Coming into the Valero Texas Open on Thursday, Laird had missed 4 cuts in his last 7 starts, and noted that his putting was the major struggle in his game so far this season. He went on to say that the difficult poa greens from the West Coast Swing earlier in the year really took a toll on his confidence, but all of that changed with his decision to go back to a putter that had previously served him well. Between the familiar feel of a reliable putter and putting on greens last week that he deemed “absolutely perfect,” Laird’s return to form was never more evident than on the putting surfaces. “This week, I went back to my old faithful putter that I won Bay Hill with a few years ago and probably had my best putting spell with,” he said. “Now I’m wondering why I ever stopped using it. But that was kind of automatic comfort with that putter on these greens.” The return of a confident putting stroke will be crucial this week when he tees it up at the Masters, as Laird will attempt to become only the 6th player in Master’s history to win the first major of the year after winning the week prior. The last player to do so was Phil Mickelson, who won the event prior to the Masters back in 2006 – the BellSouth Classic.

As big as Laird’s win was Sunday with regard to jump starting his season, the same could be said of Rory McIlroy’s last-second decision to play last week at the Texas Open. McIlroy not only got more comfortable with the new Nike equipment, but a final round of 6-under 66 on Sunday that put him just a few strokes shy of his first win this season seems to have sparked his competitive juices once again. “Everything I wanted to accomplish this week, I accomplished,” McIlroy said. “I’m very happy that I’m going into next week with my game in good shape and my confidence level pretty high.”  

Top 10 Standings @ Texas Open

1st @ 14-under – Martin Laird (9-under 63 Sunday)

2nd @ 12-under – Rory McIlroy (6-under 66 Sunday)

T3rd @ 11-under – Billy Horschel (1-under 71), Jim Furyk (3-under 69), Charley Hoffman (3-under 69)

6th @ 9-under – K.J. Choi (4-under 68)

T7th @ 8-under – Daniel Summerhays (3-under 69), Jeff Overton (3-under 69), Bob Estes (2-under 70)

T10th @ 7-under – Martin Flores (4-under 68), Marcel Siem (3-under 69), Padraig Harrington (2-under 70)

(All Players Quotes courtesy of PGATOUR.COM)

 

Luke Warm: Donald Wins Transitions, Reclaims World Number 1

by Scott

Sam Greenwood / Getty Images

In a manner not all that different from his gradual ascent to Golf’s global stardom, Luke Donald managed his way up the leaderboard on Sunday at Innisbrook. He began the final round three shots back of 54-hole co-leaders Jim Furyk and Retief Goosen, playing the role of the unassuming lurker. By the time he made his 5th birdie in a crucial 7-hole stretch midway through his round, he was right in the thick of things. Roughly 2 hours later, and after a clinic performance of clutch sand play and putting on the treacherous “Snake Pit” stretch of closing holes, he managed to get into a 4-man playoff. And then – one glorious swing from 160 yards, with an iffy lie in the rough, followed by one straight-forward, 6-foot putt up the hill – Luke Donald prevailed on Sunday in the most clutch of fashions.

But others had their chances as well.

Ken Duke had his chances, was actually on the number until the missed 5-footer that led to bogey on the par3 17th. A pulled tee shot on the final hole would be his eventual demise, another near-miss for the 43-yr-old veteran.

No bigger meltdown occurred on Sunday than that of Ernie Els. Not because of the bad swing that led to bogey on the 17th, but because of the 4-footer that he missed on the last hole for par, not even scaring the hole, to miss the playoff. The biggest scars in golf come from the shortest misses – just ask Scott Hoch. Ernie’s Masters hopes are effectively dashed.

Sang-Moon Bae, aside of Luke Donald (or so I thought), actually showed the least amount of nerves on Sunday. I know that he’s disappointed with the outcome in the playoff, but he can’t be upset with the way he played last week. I think this guy is going to enjoy a very good career on Tour.

It was nice seeing Jim Furyk show a gritty performance on Sunday – something that has been missing for quite a while. He had a few shots on Sunday that he’d obviously like to have over, but judging from his performance last week and comparing it to where his game has been the past year – he has to be feeling better about the state of his game. It’s always good to see Furyk playing well, one of the hardest workers in golf.

What more do we need to see from Luke Donald, besides a major championship title? Does his win Sunday put him dead in the center of the conversation heading into the Masters in a few weeks? I think it does. It could very well come down to #1 and #2 going head-to-head for a Green Jacket.

For a full recap of Sunday’s exciting finish at the 2012 Transitions Championship at Innisbrook Resort, click HERE.

Notable Quotes on Sunday

“Absolutely. I don’t pay too much attention to it, but I certainly wasn’t in the media at all. I think people saw my last year, or thought that my last year was maybe a little bit more of a, not a fluke, but you know, I don’t think many people thought I could do that all over again this year. You know, hopefully I can prove them wrong.” - Luke Donald, responding to the question about McIlroy getting all of the attention after winning a few weeks back and becoming the new #1 player in the world, and how many people seemed to quickly write him off.

“I’ll be practicing probably with him in the next couple weeks at The Bear’s Club. Yeah, I’m sure he got a taste of the view and I’m sure he’ll want more of it. He’s a great player and it’s nice to have — I think golf is in a good spot right now. There’s a lot of excitement going on. The good players are playing well, and it’s nice to have a little back and forth like that.” - Luke Donald, adding to his comment above about McIlroy and how he perceives this friendly tug-of-war for the top spot in the world rankings.

“I feel confident in my game. I’m hoping to play better and to play well this year. Talking about this year; I was kind of laughing about my press conference here yesterday, because all we did was talk about how I played last year. I laughed about it on the way out of here yesterday. And I would like to play well for a few more events so we could talk about how well I’m playing this year, rather than how bad I played last year.” - Jim Furyk

“If I made mine, he might have missed his, first one in, but you never know, one of the best players in the world. He probably wasn’t going to miss that putt but that’s the way I was thinking; if I make this, he might miss his and might have been mine. You never know. But didn’t happen. I played well this week. Made a lot of birdies today and didn’t happen. Was a lot of fun though.” Robert Garrigus, offering his insight to his missed putt in the playoff.

 

 

 

 

Goosen, Furyk Tied for Lead at Transitions

by Scott

Associated Press

The story that will be written Sunday at Innisbrook has several different plots in the making.

Story #1: Jason Dufner is only 1 shot back of the lead and in a good spot to come from behind and get his first career PGA Tour win. This week marks his 160th official start as a PGA Tour player, and he could very well end his career drought Sunday, although he will need to play better than he did on Saturday as he could only manage an even-par round of 71. Dufner is well aware of what is at stake tomorrow, but attempted to play down the talk of a long overdue win. “You know, I don’t really think about being due or not due. I know I’ve been in this position a good bit,” he said. “I’d love to have some great breaks tomorrow and make some 50-footers or hole a 7-iron or something. Maybe that would equal everything out. You know, probably not going to happen. So I’m just focused on trying to play well like I did the first two days.” Dufner’s final-round scoring average this season is 70.75, ranked 77th overall. Not bad, but he’ll need to improve upon that Sunday if he wants a shot getting that first win.

Story #2: From the “Beware of the Wounded Golfer” files: On Wednesday, Retief Goosen’s lingering back problems became so bad that he had to officially withdrew from next week’s tournament at Bay Hill so he could get protein injection therapy for his ailing back next Wednesday. Things were not looking good. Then came Saturday, as he fired the low round of the day at Innisbrook, a 6-under 65 to take a share of the lead heading into the final round. Goosen’s last win, oddly enough, came at this very tournament back in 2009, and in his mind – he’ll need to do it again Sunday to remove any doubts about earning an invite to the Masters in three weeks. “Yeah, I mean, yesterday I set my mind out here, okay, Augusta is not going to be there; I finished poorly yesterday with a double on 16 and fell way back,” Goosen said. “So you sort of tell yourself, probably going to need to shoot low on the weekend to get into the top 5 to by the end of next week stay in the top-50 in the World Rankings, and then maybe be ready for Augusta. So I withdrew, and that made me more relaxed, that you know, this is my last week, my last chance is today and tomorrow. Maybe I’m fighting for that last spot in Augusta.”

Story #3: It could be a big week for the “5-hour Energy Drink” company, as they’ll also be able to market the potential to cure hangovers. Jim Furyk’s career-best 2010 season left a lot to be desired in 2011, his worst season ever on Tour, and the hangover effect hasn’t been easy to shake. Furyk managed only 4 top-10′s last season and missed 7 cuts, and missed his first cut this season at the Honda Classic two weeks ago. His best finish this year was at the Northern Trust Open last month where he finished T11. Furyk shot 5-under 66 in Saturday’s 3rd round to get to 11-under, and shares the lead with Goosen heading into Sunday. Afterward, Furyk spoke candidly about his dismal 2011 season and the impact it had on his confidence.

“Obviously I’m pissed off. I don’t want to play poorly. I haven’t played poorly for — actually I’ve never played like I played last year on Tour,” he said. “Maybe my rookie year but I was excited, I finished 78th on the Money List, I was excited, I had a card, I had a job, I was 23 years old, couldn’t have been happier, 24. Yeah, I was excited. So last year, yeah, you’re pissed off about the way you’re playing, but I think that I’m disappointed, I was upset, I was cranky on the golf course, I was harder on my caddie, I was harder on Mike last year than I’ve ever been,” Furyk continued. “I think I’m a pretty easy guy to work for and there were times last year where I wasn’t, and I realized — I tried not to take it home. I tried when I show up at the hotel room, I try to pretty much put golf behind me, because the kids don’t know any different. You’re still dad at home, whether you shoot 79 or 59. I tried not to take it home and hopefully I didn’t but sometimes it’s hard. But I think had it happened to me probably when I was 31, or 32, and I would have had a bad year there in the middle, I would have taken it a little harder. I lived and breathed my golf a little bit more at those times. And as I got older, other things in my life have become as they should, should have been when I was 31, but there’s other things in life more important and that’s my family and my kids. You put it in perspective, and I think now I’m able to kind of at the end of the day take a deep breath and instead of focusing on, I played poorly, the focus is on, OK, what are the next steps to start playing well. That’s really what I’ve been doing for the last few months. And I needed kind of the year last year to end to be honest with you. And I had to keep playing at the end of the year, because I didn’t have a very good year and I wanted to get the World Ranking up but I needed the time off, take a deep breath and refocus my goals and what I was trying to accomplish and how was I going to go about doing that, and that I needed some time to work on that. I had about eight weeks to kind of get away, to refocus, to think about what I wanted to work on and get to work. I feel like I have not had a lot of starts, and my results maybe probably don’t look good on paper but I feel good about the way I’m playing. I’ve been playing much better golf this year than I was last year.”

I hate to say I told you so, but this all goes back to something that I questioned near the start of last season when the TaylorMade equipment deal came knocking. Furyk, like many other players before him, couldn’t turn down a lucrative endorsement deal and another 10-15 yards off the tee. He even admitted as much Saturday evening in his post-round interview.

“I drove the ball pitiful last year. That’s probably the worst driving year I’ve had. And I don’t credit it all to putting. I putted poorly last year. I drove the ball poorly last year. That’s two of the three most important parts of the game. You’re not going to score well at that point,” he said. “So I switched drivers at the end of last year in December. Started working with a Callaway driver right before Chevron and enjoyed — I liked what I saw. Started working with a different golf ball with actually Phil, when I played with him at The Presidents Cup, started using his golf ball and really liked it. Basically what I was seeing was a combination of the two products, I was creating more spin on the golf ball, and I got away from that a little bit last year. The ball launched a little bit higher and had a little less spin; I could hit it far, but I’m not a high-spin guy and because I’m a guy that wants to hit a lot of shots, hit it right-to-left, left-to-right, hit it low, hit it high, and I need spin to do that and that’s how you control the golf ball.

“I had made some mistakes and in what I was doing with my equipment and I made mistakes fitting myself equipment that I could have done better. And it was a product of maybe trying to get a little bit longer, maybe trying to find new ways to improve and maybe then hurting my strengths, if that makes sense. Trying to make my weaknesses better but in doing so, hurting your strengths, which is rule No. 1. You don’t do that.”

Hopefully it hasn’t led him down the road to no return…. a good round tomorrow will certainly go a long way to restoring his confidence and putting his senseless equipment debacle behind him.

Story #4: Someone comes from 2-3 shots back, maybe even more, to win Sunday. Sang-Moon Bae is tied with Dufner for 2nd, only a shot back of the lead. Ken Duke and John Mallinger are tied for 5th and only 2 shots back at 9-under. Chez Reavie, Ernie Els, and Luke Donald are all tied for 7th, 3 shots back. If Donald can come from behind and win tomorrow, he’ll assume the top spot in the World Rankings again. Almost a dozen players are 4 shots back at 7-under, including the following notables who can obviously turn the tide: Sergio Garcia, David Toms, Webb Simpson, and Padraig Harrington. Chris DiMarco is in that pack, and although it would be unlikely – a win would certainly go a long way to reestablishing his career again. Any number of stories could unfold. Copperhead isn’t an easy course, and crazy things happen Sunday afternoon on the PGA Tour.

I’m expecting a great finish.

For a full recap of Saturday’s action at the 2012 Transitions Championship, click HERE.

 

PGATOUR.COM – Daily Wrap-up: Round 1, Transitions Championship

by Scott

PGATOUR.COM – Daily Wrap-up: Round 1, Transitions Championship.

I’d like to say that I caught some quality action of the tournament today, but all I saw for 2-and-a-half hours on my television was guys stalking 10 footers on the greens. 125 putts… I’m still miffed!

I cut away from March Madness for this crap?

PGATOUR.COM – The Starter: Round 1, Transitions Championship

by Scott

PGATOUR.COM – The Starter: Round 1, Transitions Championship.

 

Should be a good tournament this week, with a lot of players trying to get their games primed for the upcoming Masters tournament just around the corner. Defending champ Jim Furyk is hoping to find something this week that might turn around his sluggish start to this season, and last week’s winner Nick Watney will try to see if he can win back-to-back.

Check out the link above to get the lowdown on this week’s action at the Copperhead Course at the Transitions Championship.

Jim Furyk Interview

by Scott

Came across THIS INTERVIEW WITH JIM FURYK and thought it was worth passing along.

The one comment about where he keeps the FedEx Cup Trophy is pretty interesting:

“Right now it doesn’t really have a spot. It’s just kind of at the house, downstairs. I guess it’s sitting in the dining room. It’s not in a case. We don’t have an official trophy case at home. It’s out for people to take a look at it and see it. I think that’s where it is.”

Quite a few “I guess” and “I think” phrases going on there, of which “I’m guessing” doesn’t exactly warm Timmy Finchem’s heart about his prestigious FedEx Cup playoff series. But I think it’s safe to say that Furyk knows every last detail about the $10 million…. 

Northern Trust Open Thread

by Scott

John Senden is the early clubhouse leader today, posting 4-under 67 in his opening round at the NTO at Riviera. Roughly 1/3 of the field has completed their rounds as of 12:40 local time out on the West Coast.

Notes

Dustin Johnson was late making his tee time this morning and was penalized 2 strokes, narrowly avoiding DQ. That set the tone for a tough go of things for DJ, who went on to post an opening round 2-over 73 on the par-71 layout.

Maybe it’s the equipment change, maybe it’s the rust, or maybe both… but Jim Furyk’s early-season form has yet to resemble the 2010 Player of the Year. Furyk failed to take advantage of the three par5′s at Riviera by playing them at level par, and also threw in 5 bogeys. His struggles Thursday resulted in a 4-over round of 75.

Phil Mickelson is off to a hot start, carding birdies on his first two opening holes this afternoon to begin the quest for his 3rd title at Riviera in 4 starts. He will obviously be the focal point of the afternoon coverage on the Golf Channel.

2-time winner already this season, Mark Wilson had an uneventful opening round of level-par 71.

For live leaderboard scoring, check out PGATOUR.COM’s live tournament leaderboard HERE.

Rain Causing Issues at Sony Open

by Scott

Seems like the familiar theme from last season is carrying over into the early stages of this season. Severe rains on Wednesday washed out the practice round at the Sony Open in Hawaii yesterday, and it appears that Mother Nature is poised to take today’s opening round festivities hostage as well.

Check out the pics taken earlier today HERE.

Edit: Play has officially been canceled for Thursday, and the first round of the Sony will start on Friday. If all goes as planned the tournament will conclude with the final two rounds being played on Sunday.

A New Tour Season Begins

by Scott

The turkey leftovers are finally gone. The kids have already forgotten about or misplaced their xmas gifts from a few weeks earlier. The NFL playoff picture is finally complete, and the remaining bowl games in NCAA football should (hopefully) be worth watching. That can only mean one thing:

The 2011 PGA Tour season is about to begin!

When: Jan 6-9
Where: The Hyundai Tournament of Champions, The Plantation Course at Kapalua, Hawaii
TV Coverage: The Golf Channel, 5:30-10:00 p.m. EST, all four days

My thoughts: The challenge is always the same at the Plantation Course – the wind. Length will only be an advantage for the longer players who can accurately account for and adjust to the wind. Putting will be key, with large undulating greens that require a premium on distance control. Not sure there has been a more impressive field here in recent years… it’s impossible to pick an outright winner. Dustin Johnson? Matt Kuchar? Jim Furyk? Or what about Graeme McDowell? Ian Poulter maybe?

It should be an entertaining four days coming up, and I look forward to seeing who steps up and delivers right out of the gates in 2011!

Get the full scoop of this week’s opening event HERE, courtesy of PGATOUR.COM