Jim Furyk
James Michael Furyk (born May 12, 1970) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. In 2010, he was the FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year.[2] He has won one major championship, the 2003 U.S. Open. Furyk holds the record for the lowest score in PGA Tour history, a round of 58 which he shot during the final round of the 2016 Travelers Championship, and has earned notoriety for his unorthodox golf swing.
Jim Furyk
James Michael Furyk
Mr. 58
May 12, 1970
West Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S.
6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
185 lb (84 kg)
2
1992
29
17
1
1
1
3
1
7
2nd: 2013
Won: 2003
2015
2016
In September 2006 he reached a career high of second in the Official World Golf Ranking.[3] He ranked in the top-10 for over 440 weeks between 1999 and 2016.[4][5]
Early life[edit]
Furyk was born on May 12, 1970, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. His ancestry is Czech and Polish on his mother's side and Ukrainian and Hungarian on his father's side.[6][7] His father, Mike, was an assistant pro at the Edgmont Country Club and later also spent time as a pro at West Chester Golf and Country Club as well as Hidden Springs Golf Course in Horsham, Pennsylvania. His early years were spent in the Pittsburgh suburbs learning the game from his father, who was also head pro at Uniontown Country Club in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.[8]
Furyk graduated from Manheim Township High School in Lancaster County in 1988, where he played basketball in addition to being a state champion golfer. He played his junior golf at Meadia Heights Golf Club just south of Lancaster city. He played college golf at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he was an All-American twice, and led the Wildcats to their first (and only) NCAA title in 1992.[9]
PGA Tour Champions (2020–present)[edit]
On August 2, 2020, Furyk made his debut on the PGA Tour Champions, after having turned 50 years old in May 2020. He won The Ally Challenge in his first start on the tour.[27]
In his second start on the PGA Tour Champions, on September 20, 2020, Furyk won the PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach Golf Links in a playoff over Jerry Kelly. He joined Arnold Palmer and Bruce Fleisher as the only golfers to win their first two starts on tour.[28]
In July 2021, Furyk won his first senior major tournament, the U.S. Senior Open at Omaha Country Club. Furyk defeated Mike Weir and Retief Goosen by three strokes. The win automatically qualifies him for the 2022 U.S. Open.[29]
Swing[edit]
As Mike Furyk describes in a Golf Digest issue in 2001, Jim Furyk's hips "underturn" during the backswing and "overturn" coming down. On the downswing, he draws the club in a large arc behind his body (viewing from his right hand side), then pastes his elbow against his right hip at impact. David Feherty described Furyk's swing as "an octopus falling out of a tree".[30] Gary McCord said that it evokes the image of "a one-armed golfer using an axe to kill a snake in a telephone booth."[31][32]
Personal life[edit]
Furyk is married to his wife Tabitha, and they have two children. He owns homes in the Kapalua Resort and in Ponte Vedra Beach.[33]
Professional