INSTALLED as the bookies' favourite at 8/1 last night to win his second major title tomorrow, the odds makers understand Jim Furyk is the kind of cool, insouciant golfer who can be relied upon to take the low road to grasp the Claret Jug.
There's a steadiness about the American's play – he's moved by stealth to within two shots of the halfway lead – which bodes well for his chances of adding to the US Open he won five years ago in Chicago.
Third at the AT&T before crossing the Atla
ntic last week, Furyk is in decent form (he has carded four top-five finishes this season) and was only frustrated yesterday by a par 5 on the 17th when he failed to take advantage of a speared drive. In compiling successive 71s for 142, two over par, the 38-year-old Ryder Cup player, however, confirmed he's recaptured the technical understanding of how to play the low shots under the wind which work so well on a links.
A decade or so ago, when he reeled off a brace of top-four finishes at Troon and Birkdale and claimed tenth at Troon, Furyk was convinced that his best chance of major success lay on the British linksland.
A first-rate putter who had already won a number of US Tour events in windy conditions in Hawaii, Furyk felt at ease in the oldest major.
"Coming over here early in my career," he said, "I always felt this was my best chance in the majors."
What changed at the start of millennium was Furyk's desire to win more on home turf. He changed his swing and worked on a higher ball flight. It was good enough to increase his number of PGA Tour wins to 13, including that success at Olympia Fields in 2003.
"As I worked the ball up in the air higher and higher, which we need in America," he recalled, "I struggled over here." Between 2001 and 2005, Furyk missed five consecutive cuts.
However, he started to get his act back together at Hoylake two years ago when he was fourth and played decent golf to finish 12th at Carnoustie. This was reward for arriving in the UK the week-end before the Open and playing links golf away from the venue. Last year he had a day at St Andrews, this time he played Hoylake with his caddie last Saturday.
"Hopefully, I can continue my streak of better golf," he said. "I feel like five days of golf is enough to adapt here."
The key to Furyk's 71 was a solid performance with the shortest club in the bag, which kept bogeys at a minimum. "By the end of the round, I was knocking in some good putts and played well down the stretch. I felt a lot more relaxed with the putter in hand."
Furyk was in the same group as Camilo Villegas and enjoyed his partner's five birdies as much as the galleries. "But it's a tough golf course," he cautioned. "I can understand five bogeys in a row here too."
The full article contains 525 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
