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Furyk on a roll in finest PGA season
Las Vegas, Oct 08: Jim Furyk has to be salivating. He is in the midst of his finest season on the PGA Tour with a major and 14 top-10 finishes, all of which has him in the running for Player of the Year honors.
Las Vegas, Oct 08: Jim Furyk has to be salivating. He is in the midst of his finest season on the PGA Tour with a major and 14 top-10 finishes, all of which has him in the running for Player of the Year honors.
And Wednesday, Furyk will begin play at the Las Vegas Invitational, which he was won three times in the past eight years. "I'm not sure I'm the stereotypical Vegas person, but I've had a lot of success here," he said of his wins in 1995 and then 1998 and '99.
Furyk emerges as the Early Line front-runner on the basis of his previous starts in the desert. Not that Furyk needs any extra motivation, but being in contention for POY honors might have Furyk bearing down a little harder this week, especially considering that he does not consider himself a leading contender.
"I'm not going to lobby for myself with just two wins," he said. "I'd have to be one of those guys that would have to win at least another tournament and probably two to be seriously considered."
Trying to handicap this tournament is difficult because it a five-day tournament played on three different courses. "If you're a long hitter that's great," said Stuart Appleby, last year's runner-up, of what's needed to win on the trio of courses. "If you're a great putter, that's great. Ultimately, to win you've got to be one of the top two or three putters this week."
Since 1999, the list of winners and top contenders has been an eclectic group -- Phil Tataurangi, Bob Estes, Billy Andrade, Jeff Sluman, Rory Sabbatini, Tom Lehman, Phil Mickelson and Jonathan Kaye. From that group alone, do not be surprised to see Estes and Appleby -- especially Appleby -- in contention. Estes is just a hunch because he appears to be about ready to find his groove. He finished third in 1992 and '93, but aside from his win in 2001, he has no top-30 finishes and four missed cuts since 1993. Yet, Estes is the consummate grinder and while scores are often way low at Vegas, this really is a marathon tournament.
Appleby? Prior to the 84 Lumber Classic of Pennsylvania, Appleby was no where to be found on the radar. He had only two top-10 finishes to show for his season. Appleby then found something in his game and has posted back-to-back second-place finishes.
In Pennsylvania, Appleby was 20-under in a shootout. At the WGC- American Express Championship last week in Woodstock, Ga., Appleby was a methodical 4-under, closing with under-par rounds of 68-69-68. He finished second here last year.
Also finishing in the top 10 this week will likely be players who find themselves on the bubble of the PGA Tour's top-125 money list. Eight of the 10 players from Nos. 120 to 129 are in the field, including Esteban Toledo (No. 120), Kent Jones (No. 122), Garrett Willis (No. 124), Pat Bates (No. 125), Jesper Parnevik (No. 126), Jeff Brehaut (No. 127), Olin Browne (No. 128) and Dicky Pride (No. 129).
Of the bubble bunch, go with Browne. In eight previous starts he had never placed in the top-20, but finished 22nd twice, the best track record of the group. From a curiosity standpoint, Tommy Armour III is in the field and it will be interesting if his red-hot flat stick is still untouchable. Conventional wisdom says no, mainly because there are 54 greens to contend with over the week as opposed to 18, and the conditions will likely vary.
And then there is Chris DiMarco, who has had probably the best season of anyone who has yet to win this season. He is the only player among the four on Tour with 10 or more top-10 finishes who has yet to win. The other three players are Furyk, Vijay Singh and Kenny Perry. In the last three years, he has finished fifth, 13th and 16th.
Bureau Report
And Wednesday, Furyk will begin play at the Las Vegas Invitational, which he was won three times in the past eight years. "I'm not sure I'm the stereotypical Vegas person, but I've had a lot of success here," he said of his wins in 1995 and then 1998 and '99.
Furyk emerges as the Early Line front-runner on the basis of his previous starts in the desert. Not that Furyk needs any extra motivation, but being in contention for POY honors might have Furyk bearing down a little harder this week, especially considering that he does not consider himself a leading contender.
"I'm not going to lobby for myself with just two wins," he said. "I'd have to be one of those guys that would have to win at least another tournament and probably two to be seriously considered."
Trying to handicap this tournament is difficult because it a five-day tournament played on three different courses. "If you're a long hitter that's great," said Stuart Appleby, last year's runner-up, of what's needed to win on the trio of courses. "If you're a great putter, that's great. Ultimately, to win you've got to be one of the top two or three putters this week."
Since 1999, the list of winners and top contenders has been an eclectic group -- Phil Tataurangi, Bob Estes, Billy Andrade, Jeff Sluman, Rory Sabbatini, Tom Lehman, Phil Mickelson and Jonathan Kaye. From that group alone, do not be surprised to see Estes and Appleby -- especially Appleby -- in contention. Estes is just a hunch because he appears to be about ready to find his groove. He finished third in 1992 and '93, but aside from his win in 2001, he has no top-30 finishes and four missed cuts since 1993. Yet, Estes is the consummate grinder and while scores are often way low at Vegas, this really is a marathon tournament.
Appleby? Prior to the 84 Lumber Classic of Pennsylvania, Appleby was no where to be found on the radar. He had only two top-10 finishes to show for his season. Appleby then found something in his game and has posted back-to-back second-place finishes.
In Pennsylvania, Appleby was 20-under in a shootout. At the WGC- American Express Championship last week in Woodstock, Ga., Appleby was a methodical 4-under, closing with under-par rounds of 68-69-68. He finished second here last year.
Also finishing in the top 10 this week will likely be players who find themselves on the bubble of the PGA Tour's top-125 money list. Eight of the 10 players from Nos. 120 to 129 are in the field, including Esteban Toledo (No. 120), Kent Jones (No. 122), Garrett Willis (No. 124), Pat Bates (No. 125), Jesper Parnevik (No. 126), Jeff Brehaut (No. 127), Olin Browne (No. 128) and Dicky Pride (No. 129).
Of the bubble bunch, go with Browne. In eight previous starts he had never placed in the top-20, but finished 22nd twice, the best track record of the group. From a curiosity standpoint, Tommy Armour III is in the field and it will be interesting if his red-hot flat stick is still untouchable. Conventional wisdom says no, mainly because there are 54 greens to contend with over the week as opposed to 18, and the conditions will likely vary.
And then there is Chris DiMarco, who has had probably the best season of anyone who has yet to win this season. He is the only player among the four on Tour with 10 or more top-10 finishes who has yet to win. The other three players are Furyk, Vijay Singh and Kenny Perry. In the last three years, he has finished fifth, 13th and 16th.
Bureau Report