PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Jim Furyk choked up after making a charge on three of the most difficult finishing holes in golf.
He got misty-eyed walking off the 18th green Sunday at The Players Championship, knowing his clutch birdie there gave him the outright lead and a chance to become the oldest winner of the PGA Tour’s flagship event, his hometown event.
With his wife and two children among the fans raining down their approval on him, Furyk reveled in what Sunday afternoon meant, as he plays the last chapters of what is likely a Hall of Fame PGA Tour career.
“I was just proud of the way I played,” he said.
At tournament’s end, Furyk was left congratulating Rory McIlroy for being one shot better than he was. He was left feeling as encouraged as he was disappointed in falling just short against a former world No. 1 and four-time major championship winner.
“I don’t feel any less pride for the way I played, because I didn’t win,” Furyk said. “Because it was Rory, I mean, probably doesn’t take any sting out of it. I have a lot of respect for his game. I have a lot of respect for him as a person. But it still stings. I’m a competitor, and I want to win, and it pisses me off I didn’t.”
Furyk hit an unforgettable 7-iron to 3 feet to set up that closing birdie. He also birdied the 16th and scared the hole in a birdie bid at the 17th.
There was more than consolation knowing he has rediscovered some serious game, after wondering what injuries and the demands of his Ryder Cup captaincy might have taken from him as a player. He’s a 17-time PGA Tour winner with renewed confidence that he can add to that total.
Furyk turns 49 in May. Listening to TV analysts talk about his chances this week, he said he was beginning to think his name was officially changed to “48-year-old Jim Furyk.” He doesn’t think of himself that way.
“That’s all I heard, which made me laugh,” Furyk said. “I don’t take it offensively. I am 48.”
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Though this marked his fifth finish of T-5 or better at The Players, he said he never felt comfortable playing the TPC Sawgrass Stadium course.
He was comfortable Sunday.
“It’s fun to be home,” Furyk said. “It’s fun to be in front of the home crowd.”
His wife, Tabitha, hugged him coming off the 18th green. His two teenage children, daughter Caleigh Lynn and son Tanner James, were also here.
“I haven’t been healthy in a lot of years,” Furyk said, describing his emotions after the round. “I haven’t put myself in the heat with a really good opportunity to win a golf tournament in a while, and I missed it. I missed the nerves, I missed the excitement, the cheers.”
Furyk barely got into The Players Championship, qualifying two weeks ago with his tie for ninth at the Honda Classic. He arrived here with limited status after failing to finish among the top 125 in the FedEx Cup standings last year, when he was engulfed in Ryder Cup responsibilities. He’s on the rise again. His second-place finish Sunday vaults him more than 100 spots in the world rankings, up to No. 57. If he can move inside the top 50 by the week before the Masters, he’ll be going back to Augusta National next month. A lot of new opportunities are in play again.
“It’s going to change my schedule a little bit,” Furyk said.
Furyk had wrist surgery back in 2016 and a nagging shoulder injury last year. After the disappointment of seeing his Ryder Cup reign end with a loss last fall, he says he wasn’t fretting his future.
“This is the first time I’ve been healthy starting a season since 2015,” he said. “My whole goal was to see how competitive I could be out here on the PGA Tour, and give myself opportunities to win. That’s what I consider competitive. I want to try to win golf tournaments. And if I could do that, then I’ll play some on the PGA Tour, and if I can’t, well, I turn 50 pretty soon and I’ll go hang with my buddies out there (on the PGA Tour Champions) and see if I can be competitive out there.”
Furyk’s buddies will have to wait. He gained some confidence he’ll be looking to build upon taking on the young guys for a while longer.