To say Jim Furyk had a good day on Sunday would be a gross understatement.
He needed 70 strokes to get around a par 70 golf course. That is the exact definition of “average.” But the rest of Furyk’s day was anything but.
Furyk won the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, edging Luke Donald by one shot and Retief Goosen by two. In capturing his third title of the year, the 40-year-old American also clinched the 2010 FedEx Cup, the lucrative season-long competition on the PGA Tour.
For those counting (and the golf world certainly is counting), that’s a cool $11.35 million in Furyk’s pocket; $1.35 million for winning the tournament and $10 million for being the FedEx Cup champion.
“To go out and get three (wins) this year is pretty special,” Furyk said in his press conference. “And then to top it off here at the right time at the TOUR Championship…. I love this golf course. To win this on a golf course that I admire and respect is a lot of fun. There was a lot riding on my round today and I was able to get the job done and win again. This is very special.”
Furyk’s second-to-last stroke, out of a sand trap on the par 3 18th hole, was also special. Although the shot was not particularly taxing in itself, the circumstances surely made it a knee-knocker. With Donald in the clubhouse at 7-under, Furyk needed a par to win the tournament–and the FedEx Cup–outright and avoid a playoff. Like it was just another play out of just another bunker, Furyk calmly landed his ball within two feet of the cup and tapped in for an outrageous payday.
“Let’s just say I had a lot of confidence,” said Furyk, who was nine for nine in getting up-and-down out of bunkers during the tournament. “It came off the club perfect. Under the situation, it was a tough bunker shot.”
The sand save capped off a relatively bizarre two months for Furyk. In fact, at the beginning of the FedEx Cup playoffs, he could not even get out of bed–much less a bunker. Prior to a pro-am at the Barclays, the first of four playoff events, Furyk’s alarm clock failed to go off, he overslept, missed his tee time, and was disqualified from the entire tournament.
Matt Kuchar won the Barclays, took a lead in the FedEx Cup standings, and kept it all the way until the Tour Championship. But while Furyk dug himself out of an early playoff hole, Kuchar fell from his perch at the top. The former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket stumbled to a 5-over 285, tied for 25th out of 30 golfers.
Still, Kuchar finished runner-up to Furyk for the FedEx Cup and earned $3 million, easily the biggest payday of his career (in addition to the $127,500 he pocketed in tournament prize money). Donald finished third for an additional $2 million.
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