© STAN BADZ/PGA TOUR; SCOTT HALLERAN/GETTY IMAGES; JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY IMAGES
FEDEXCUP
“And an assist goes to Szep...” You could say that Jim Furyk teamed with a suburban Boston golf store and a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist to capture THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola and the FedExCup competition, worth approximately $11.35 million. The threesome came together in a couple of transactions that enabled Furyk to buy an old putter. PGA TOUR professionals have few wants
Matt Kuchar’s stunning playoff win earned him The Barclays title.
2010 FINAL FEDEXCUP STANDINGS RANK NAME
1
Luke Donald challenged late with three birdies in THE TOUR Championship to place third in the final FedExCup standings.
3 JIM FURYK
2 MATT KUCHAR LUKE DONALD
POINTS BONUS MONEY 2,980 $10,000,000 2,728 $ 3,000,000 2,700 $ 2,000,000
4 CHARLEY HOFFMAN 2,500 $ 1,500,000 5 DUSTIN JOHNSON 2,493 $ 1,000,000
his short game. On a course setup more reminiscent of a U.S. Open, with thick rough and firm, fast bermudagrass greens, Furyk’s game came together, and those in the top five of the FedExCup standings faded. Furyk led after the second and third rounds and was in control in Sunday’s final round as harsh weather moved in. Thunderstorms delayed play, and then it rained consistently, making the course very long. Furyk held a three-stroke lead with three holes left but made bogeys on 16 and 17 and was only one ahead of Luke Donald with the treacherous, 230- yard, par-3 18th remaining. With the tournament and the FedExCup on the line, Furyk’s tee shot found the right-front bunker. From there, he blasted out to just over 2 feet and sank the winning par putt, completing a 9-for-9, up-and-down rate for the week from the East Lake bunkers. Wearing a rear-facing cap to keep
the pelting rain from dripping into his putting line, Furyk grabbed his winning
28 PGA TOUR OFFICIAL ANNUAL 2011
ball from the hole and displayed a fist pump and shout that was more reminiscent of a cheer for his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers. “It’s only four years old, but 40 years
from now there should be a lot of history in this trophy,” Furyk said of the FedExCup. “And to have Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk on it—I’m very proud of that because those two can flat play, two of the most- dominant players of my era for sure.” Surely, Furyk fits in that club, what
with 16 career wins (among the top 50 in PGA TOUR history), a major championship (2003 U.S. Open) and now a season’s worth of accomplishments as the 2010 FedExCup champion and the PGA TOUR Player of the Year. ■
Ward Clayton is a communications specialist with more than 20 years in the communications business, including 10 years at the PGA TOUR.
when it comes to equipment as their sponsors set them up with the latest technology way before the general public has access. But occasionally, a player will stumble upon a club that makes the difference. Lee Trevino’s win in the 1974 PGA Championship at Tanglewood in Clemmons, NC, comes to mind, as the “Merry Mex” discovered an old putter in the attic of his rental home and used it that week to beat Jack Nicklaus by one stroke. Furyk was searching for an answer as the
PGA TOUR Playoffs began last summer. After being disqualified for missing his pro-am tee time at The Barclays the previous week and falling from contention at the Deutsche Bank Championship the following week, Furyk was out on Sunday night after the third round. He had experimented with an upside-down grip and belly putter during the season and was still looking for an answer. He walked into Joe & Leigh’s Discount Pro Golf Shop in South Easton, MA, and began to try a few old putters. He liked the feel of a heel-shafted putter that was a bit beat up and took it to the counter. The price: $39. “It’s got a nick on the back flange, it’s got a
little ding in the top line,” Furyk said. “I never changed the loft and lie, which is rare for me... it might be slightly off center but that’s kind of how I like it anyway. I guess we were meant to be.” The putter previously belonged to Paul Szep,
the retired Boston Globe editorial cartoonist and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. Szep has approximately 100 putters in his collection. He traded in the “Furyk” model in the middle of the summer at Joe & Leigh’s and the trade-in paid off for Furyk. His putting improved at the BMW Championship and THE TOUR Championship, where Furyk only missed three putts inside of 10 feet. Watching on television were some new Furyk business partners and fans. “You’ve got to come see this,” Szep told
some friends as Furyk lined up the clinching par putt in Atlanta. “That’s my putter right there.”
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