The Open: Jim Furyk aims to bounce back

Published on 18/07/2012 00:00

MAJORS come around so quickly in golf that a disappointment one month can turn into joyous celebration the next. That’s exactly what Jim Furyk is banking on.

The American held a one-shot lead when he reached the turn in the fourth round at last month’s US Open in San Francisco, but blew his chances by bogeying three of his final six holes and lost out to Webb Simpson. Some speculated that, at 42, the 2003 US Open winner may have missed his last shot at a second major.

Now, he is at a damp Royal Lytham, ready to show there’s life in him yet. “I have always had a big drive to succeed and play well and work hard. If I play poorly, it makes me mad and makes me want to do better next time,” he said. “If I play well and come so close, it’s disappointing but I’ll work hard either way. At the end of my career, I’m not going to look back and have regrets.”

Furyk has tended to perform best at the US Open, adding two second places and three top-five finishes to his victory at Olympia Fields nine years ago. Lytham this year has the feel of a US Open, a penal rough beside narrow fairways making for some treacherous lies. Furyk even thinks a level-par final score could win it, especially if the wind picks up and the rain that poured down yesterday afternoon stays for the rest of the week.

“It doesn’t matter to me, I’ve done low in both [good and bad conditions],” he said. “I’ve shot 25 and 28 under to win golf tournaments and I’ve gone around in even par to win golf tournaments. You just adjust to the conditions. But it’s a wet summer, the rough is very thick, some of it very close to the fairway. You’re going to see some unplayable lies, people taking slashes at the ball which won’t come out of the rough.”

Furyk played his all-American practice round in a fourball with Lucas Glover, former Open champion Justin Leonard and US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III. There was little chat about the match with Europe in Medinah in September – but it’s definitely on Furyk’s mind.

He’s currently 14th in the US points list, with only the top eight selected automatically. “I have some work to do,” Furyk said. “I played a couple of times since the US Open, not particularly well. But I feel all right about my game.”