Jim Furyk’s looping swing brings to mind a rodeo cowboy throwing his lasso.
His cross-handed putting stroke — with the left hand lower than the right, his right index finger pointed down the grip — seems so unnecessarily awkward that surely he’s conducting a trick shot exhibition out there.
These truths Furyk himself cited Friday after a second-round 64 gave him the lead at the Tour Championship, and perhaps for the moment stilled any voices claiming his career was flat-lining and his choice to the U.S. Ryder Cup team was a mistake.
The 42-year-old Furyk declared he wasn’t about to use one brilliant round against his doubters. He’s far too old now to start being a slave to opinion.
“Look at the way I play golf. The way I swing the golf club and grip the putter,” he said Friday after his second-lowest round this year. “Look at the way I go about my business — I don’t hit the ball very far. If I really cared what the critics thought the last 19 years, I wouldn’t be here.”
As for his performance Friday justifying his place in next week’s Ryder’s Cup, Furyk added, “I’ve never felt like I have to justify myself. I’ve got 19 years behind me and pretty good track record.” A guy wins 16 PGA Tour events, a U.S. Open and more than $52 million in career earnings and he thinks he doesn’t have to explain himself?
On Friday, Furyk was fabulous. He began his round throwing up more 3s than Ray Allen — nine of them on his first 11 holes, going 7 under par on that stretch. His front-side 6-under 29 was just one off the Tour Championship nine-hole record of 28 (held by Tiger Woods and Nick Watney). What distinguished Furyk’s furious start was just how easy he made it look.
He was dropping approach shots so close to the pin that he could have used that cross-handed grip on a shovel and still been as effective. Five of his birdie putts on the front side were of less than five feet, his one on No. 7 measuring just 10 inches.
“I wanted to get the ball in play [off the tee]. I did a good job of that today and I set myself up a lot better for the iron shots. And my iron game was as good as it’s been all year on the front nine,” he said. He cooled off considerably on the back side, missing a par-saving putt of just less than four feet on No. 18 to finish off an even-par 35. Never, he said, did he give much thought to doing anything historic, like shooting in the 50s.
“I was just having fun writing 3 on my card,” he said. “I’ve never seen a card that pretty with all those 3s.”
The 64 was plenty enough to vault Furyk to the top of the Tour Championship leaderboard, his 7 under after two rounds a stroke better than Justin Rose, and two better than Masters champion Bubba Watson and Bo Van Pelt.
Friday was a mixed bag for Round 1’s co-leaders. Rose stayed viable with a 68, featuring a rally on the back side (32). Still optimism-filled he said, “I’m sure I’ll click into a nice rhythm on the weekend and be back to normal hitting the fairways.”
Tiger Woods, however, stumbled down several flights of stairs, with his 3-over 73 leaving him six shots back of Furyk. His explanation for why the difference from one day to the next: “Golf.”
“I’m still right there,” he assured.
A couple of more strokes right there is Rory McIlroy, who employed the day’s only eagle (and the second of the tournament) on the par-5 15th to save his round of 68. He is at 3 under, four back of Furyk. There was a lot less bonhomie with his playing partner Friday (Phil Mickelson) than the day before, when McIlroy was paired with Woods — but a bit more productive golf.
As for Mickelson, he continued to treat the fairways as if they were checkout lanes at a dollar store, shunning them almost altogether. He hit but six of 14 on Friday, nine of 28 for two days, which tied him for last among the field. His 71 left him at even par for the tournament.
Friday was reserved for Furyk to rekindle certain fond memories that East Lake holds. He has not won since taking the 2010 Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup with it. He went from Player of the Year that season to perhaps his nadir in ’11, in which he missed the PGA Tour playoffs.
This season has been marked by better play but two very pronounced meltdowns that inspired much of the outside mumbling over his Ryder Cup selection. Tied for the U.S. Open lead with three holes to play, his two bogeys over that stretch cooked him. At the Bridgestone Invitational, Furyk lost out with a double bogey on the final hole.
About this season, he said, “I’m 75 percent mad that I haven’t closed the door. I have to be reminded — whether it’s my teacher or my caddie or my wife — that I’m playing well, be patient, let it happen.”
A Friday 64 was a further reminder that out here, it’s not how, just how few.
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