Jim Furyk - Part 4 (The Majors and The Ryder Cup)

9-time Ryder Cup player Jim Furyk reflects on his performances in the majors where he missed only one cut in his first 24 events.  Jim recorded 15 top-5 finishes in addition to his win at the 2003 U.S. Open and had several great opportunities to add to his major total. He looks back on the thrill of representing his country in the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup, which he participated in as a player seven times. Jim was also honored to lead the U.S. side as Ryder Cup Captain in 2018.  He and his wife Tabitha are proud to host an event on the Champions Tour, "Constellation Furyk & Friends", played at Timuquana Country Club in his hometown. Jim Furyk concludes his life story, "FORE the Good of the Game."

Transcript

Mike Gonzalez 0:24

We've marveled at their majors recording. We didn't get to this quickly because we'll fix it with them another time in terms of his cut making, I guess, the majors. I remember Bobby Nichols and Boy, he missed maybe two cuts in his first 40 majors or 30 majors pretty incredible. I look at Jim's record. And now I noticed a cut cut cut in 2002 and probably have to do maybe that that wrist injury you mentioned, but before 2002, first 24 majors, one missed cut. That's pretty strong.

Jim Furyk 1:02

Yeah, um, I guess I prided myself on being consistent. Um I made a lot of cuts throughout my career, and uh I was always trying to have a year where I didn't miss one. I'm not sure I ever did it, but uh you know, I'd go play 27, 28 events, I'd miss one, two, three cuts, you know, and then if I had a bad year, I might miss six or seven. But um I can remember my grandfather, my mom's father, when I was younger. Uh my my rookie year, I played 27 events. I made 14 cuts and missed 13. And he knew nothing about golf, but he was he was wondering what I was gonna do for for my career when golf was over, because I was only making about half the cuts and uh only making money half the week. So um I figured it out pretty quick and became more consistent. So uh you know, though those championships are always set up. I think the one that always got me was the PGA. Um, but those championships are usually set up a lot more difficult uh under more difficult conditions, tougher setups, tougher conditions, guys are putting more pressure on themselves. So all of a sudden when you have to scrap it out, when when even par is a good score and you don't you're not putting the pedal down, I was able to kind of change gears and get in that mode. And I think it it helped me with uh you know making some cuts, but also getting myself in contention, give myself some opportunities. The PGA I probably didn't put the pedal down enough certain years. You know, the the one that I had a really good chance to win where Jason Duffner won, it was set up more like a US Open. Heavy, thick, rough, uh par is a good score, but the ones where we had to go a little more low, uh I didn't do as well. I think I treated it more like a major. I didn't I didn't recognize the setup, I didn't recognize the scores were going to be as good as they were, and and probably didn't didn't play uh the fashion I was supposed to. So that was the one that I probably didn't play in as as well as I would have liked, but uh I gave myself a lot of opportunities and and or at least a couple at the Masters and uh you know maybe three or four opportunities at the at the open and then a bunch of opportunities at the U.S. Open.

Bruce Devlin 3:05

Well to give people an idea of the consistency, the Masters 20 20 starts, 16 cuts. U.S. Open 25 starts, 22 cuts, Open Championship, 22 starts, 15 cuts, and the PGA championship, 26 starts and 20 cuts. That's a pretty consistent record, Mr. Pretty good.

Jim Furyk 3:29

I had a bad run at the at the British Open for a little while, where I had maybe like a five-year span where I might have missed three or four cuts. Uh I was in the process of kind of, I don't know, changing my game is the right way, but my game was transforming. I started to hit the ball a little higher, started uh moving my equipment to try to get more successful in the U.S. where where it's more of an aerial game, and and I kind of I don't know if I lost, but I I uh struggled with uh Lynx golf for a little while and I kind of got back to it. Uh uh after those five years, I I I really put I really put a lot of time in to get back to it because early in my career I playing in the wind and keeping the ball low and the bump and run was was something I thought would really favor my game. But uh I got away from it for a little while there. I and if I if you looked, it's probably like from that 2000 to maybe 2004, 2000, 2005, somewhere in there. And then right after that, I kind of got back on a nice run at the British Open where I played really well.

Mike Gonzalez 4:31

Yeah, you had three top tens in a row, and then and then T-41 at the old course in 2000. Of course, that's when Tiger walked away with it. And then, yeah, starting in 01, uh you mentioned uh the right number five five cuts. We were kind of wondering what was going on there, particularly right after th three top tens, because you you sure showed that you could play Lakes golf.

Jim Furyk 4:49

Yeah, and it was just a it was just a transforming of my game and and trying. I think that also helped me win the US Open in 03. It helped me uh you know, uh I really thought that 03 was a big year, 02, 03, and then the great years in 05 and 6. You know, I was kind of in the process of of changing my game a little bit to um to try to try to win more in the U.S., I guess. That was my home. That's where I played the bulk of my golf. So um and and the style here in the US doesn't always translate to uh British open golf to bump and run golf to keeping it low. Um and so you know, a good player, you know, uh the greatest players, Jack, Tiger, they win in any conditions, right? They can change. And so I had to kind of I had to be able to to adjust, and I and I really made a conscious effort of that after uh after that bad run at the open to to get back to it.

Mike Gonzalez 5:44

You had a couple of seconds uh in the U.S. Open, 06-07 back to back when Ogilvy won at Wingfoot and and and Cabrera won at Oakmont. Uh I I alluded to this earlier before. You played well at Oakmont. Had a couple of seconds there, as I recall, and another uh pretty good finish. What's the the second major you should have won?

Jim Furyk 6:08

Uh the Olympic Club 2012. Uh Webb Simpson won that one. I uh I didn't finish it off. I uh the last three holes, I hit a bad shot at 16. They moved the T way up on 16, and uh I was a little unprepared for it, and I made a bad decision. I uh I took like an aggressive line and made a tentative swing, I guess. I should have taken a uh a conservative line and made an aggressive swing. I just made a made a bad choice of club selection off the T and it caused uh caused a tentative swing and a bad shot, uh made a bogey at 16, and then didn't birdie 17, and then really had to force it to try to birdie 18 to tie and and uh and did not. So um uh that one, uh Graham McDowell and I were playing together, and I thought for sure one of us were gonna win the golf tournament, and we just both didn't finish it off the way we should have. So um we both thanks we both won a US Open, and we don't have to revisit it too often, but that's the one that uh that's the one that probably got away. Uh the Masters 98, I had a good chance. The Open Championship 98, I had a great chance. Um Wingfoot no six is a little bothersome, but really, you know, that was Phil's tournament to win, to be honest with you. But once what happened to Phil when I looked back and I only ended up losing by one, that was a that was a little bit of a stinger. Um the second and sixteen at Oakmont, I mean, Dustin Johnson controlled that tournament and had some weird things happen to him with the rulings and that. So uh that was one that he deserved. Uh that never really that never really bothered me. I was coming fresh off of a surgery as well. That was like uh I felt like I won two U.S. opens uh coming back and finishing second there.

Mike Gonzalez 7:52

Yeah, Bruce 16 top fives and majors, that's pretty good.

Bruce Devlin 7:57

Yeah. Very consistent player, as we talked about before. And then you've you've you played on a lot of team golf too, James.

Jim Furyk 8:06

Yeah, I'm I'm I'm really proud of that. I was able to, I think, play on nine Ryder Cups. I think the only one, only American to play as many or more was Phil Mickelson. Um, and so to have that opportunity to represent your country, to play, and in my opinion, uh that that was that's my favorite event. And so the opportunity to do that and to wear the American flag on your sleeve, um, to play as a team. And uh I got to know I learned so much about my game, I learned uh so much from my teammates and watching them play in practice rounds and and things that I took from that event, but uh the camaraderie and and the friendships that I made with teammates, and and um the the best thing I could say about a Ryder Cup is when you're the last match left out on the golf course, and it's kind of a pivotal point in team play on either a Friday or Saturday night, and both teams are huddled, and you got the the Euros on one side, the Americans on the other, and everyone's on pins and needles, and the crowd now is you know what fans are there have all crowded in as much as they can around one hole. And uh to just look around, it gives you goosebumps that you know the the best players in the world are all here watching us. I got you know ten teammates rooting for for my partner and I. Uh all the girls, you know, the wives and girlfriends are there, and it just it's the greatest feeling to be kind of out there uh in that atmosphere and and in a big moment. And uh uh I'll I'll miss, I'll I'll genuinely and sincerely miss playing in those events. That's that's one of the greatest things I've been able to do in my career, uh, both the Ryder Cup and the President's Cup. And and then uh obviously to to to get the nod to captain the team in 18 was uh was really uh an honor.

Mike Gonzalez 9:50

Yep, and uh uh just a couple of the highlights from the playing days. I guess the the the wins that people would really remember would be the the Battle of Brookline and the at the country club in '99. And then and then uh when uh Azinger captained the team in 2008, you guys uh won. Everybody remembers the pod system and and Paul's sort of unique approach to cappening, which I think was well needed after uh a pretty tough run for the U.S. side for a few years. Uh what's your s favorite memory of the the Ryder Cup?

Jim Furyk 10:21

Uh well the wins for sure, as you mentioned them. Uh 99, huge comeback, uh 08, where we kind of took control and and and dominated that week a lot from start to finish. Uh totally different way to win. And then, you know, as a vice captain in both 16 and 20, uh watching our team prevail at Hazel Teen and then at uh whistling straight. So uh being a part of I have to think about it, nine as a player, probably twelve of them. And you know, and and the the the four wins that that uh I had a part of were were were a lot of fun. I mean being a vice captain is actually very enjoyable. It's like being a coordinator, you know, you there's not a lot of stress, you don't have to make really any decisions. You're just out there, you're just out there hanging with the guys and and then relaying you know critical information back to the captain who has all the stress and all the pressure and all the decisions to make. And so really it's just a a cool way to kind of hang with the guys. You know, you might have a pod of four guys or a group that you're going out with, and you just get involved with that match so much and with the players in it, um it it's so much fun. So I I've enjoyed that, and that's why I kind of mentioned 16 and 20 as well, even though I I wasn't playing, I was there and felt very much a part of it with the team. And obviously I didn't hit a shot and I didn't pull the trigger and I didn't really do all that much, but uh I still uh still enjoyed uh the process and being there and and the camaraderie. And um but uh oh nine and or 99 and 08 were uh were just a blast. And and to do to win is fun, but to win as a team and to have that bond forever. And as you mentioned, uh both those captains. Uh Tom or uh Ben had a all the captains I played for, I've got nothing for but great things to say. And when I captained, I tried to pull bits and pieces from everyone. You know, things that I loved that they did that uh that I wanted to incorporate into my team and in the way that I captained my team. Um you know, Ben, I think his key moment was when he walked in that press room Saturday night. We were four points down, kind of left for dead. You know, most folks thought we were done, and and he pointed his finger at everybody and he said, I got a good feeling about this. He kind of dropped the mic, he dropped the mic and walked out, and everyone there at the time thought he was absolutely out of his mind. Like he had lost it and he was done. And but it was a big deal for us. I mean, we were getting our rear ends handed to us, and our captain just like instead of looking like you know it was the end of the world, he uh you know, he he basically said, I got a good feeling, these guys are gonna go out and win tomorrow, and I believe in them. And that was a big step for us. And then Zinger, his style was a little different. He had to get everyone to kind of buy into what he was calling a pod system. Um not only get buy into it, but uh kind of accept the role that they were gonna be given, um, which a good leader will do. Uh he'll kind of define your role and and make sure that you know, make sure you're gonna accept it. Um but Paul's got a really unique uh personality, I guess, in that uh he's high energy and and uh I don't know, he has he has a unique way of making you feel at ease. He's serious, but he's comical and he's witty, and I think like he can sit with the boys and talk smack. I mean, really, he can talk some smack. He's hard to hard to be. But then he can put him in a room of girls, and he's just such a sweetheart and a gentleman that he's kind of got a little bit of a magnetic personality. I've always been kind of drawn to him. I think he's funny, I think he's wonderful to hang out with, and I think it was reflected on the team as in his leadership that um it just was a fun week in in a time when we were putting a lot of pressure on ourselves and we weren't winning a lot of those events, and we you know we we we had to win, would have been way able to say it just didn't seem like that with Paul. He had a way of kind of diffusing and letting the air out of the balloon and then letting us go out there and and perform and play well.

Mike Gonzalez 14:29

Yeah, yeah. You had a good run uh if we jump ahead of the President's Cup then, too. Played seven times. I think there might have been once where uh you had to back away because of injury, probably, didn't you? That you might have made an eighth team.

Jim Furyk 14:40

I did. I did in Korea. That would have been uh uh possibly the last one I would have played in. I'm not sure. I gotta go back and think about that. But uh I I made the team at Korea, and that was when we were going into that uh second wrist surgery, and I just couldn't. Couldn't I kind of wait until the last minute and I just couldn't go and I was in in in talks with Jay Haas, and I asked if there was any way if I could come over and and be a vice captain, and the uh the tour had to kind of make a little bit of an exception for that. But since I'd made the team, they kind of they thought it was warranted, and and so it was my first taste as a basically as an assistant. And uh and funny, you know, being a short straight hitter, the two guys that I was given putting in charge of all week were uh JB Holmes and Bubba Watson. Well sure. Which was uh which was interesting. Like I'm watching them cut corners and I'm thinking, how did I end up in this group, right? You know, but uh I had a great I had I had a great time with them and had a lot of fun, and JB was the one that replaced me that week, so uh it was kind of cool to hang out with him.

Mike Gonzalez 15:36

Yeah, you look at the lineup of captains that you had experience with too in that event. Nicholas, Peter Thompson, Ken Venturi, Gary Plair. The list goes on and on. Quite an experience, I'm sure.

Jim Furyk 15:49

It really was. I think to to play for your heroes, your your idols, um, and then get to know him so well. I think I did that four times for Jack where I played on his teams, but all the captains. Uh Ken was someone I didn't know very well, and and Tabitha and I got to know him very well through the week. So most of the captains I played for, I either played alongside, I knew very well, I was already friends with, but then to play for Ken, it was really interesting to get to know him, and and I really enjoyed that, actually. I enjoyed that relationship that we had and and uh got to have dinner with him when it was all said and done, and he really uh he really poured his heart into it. He had a stack of papers with stats and notes. It had to be it was it was like a novel uh and and organized so well that uh it was really interesting. And you know, he had gotten to view us from afar for so long, but probably didn't know the guys that well either. So it was it was good that we could uh could spend that time together.

Mike Gonzalez 16:44

Yeah. So you you you eventually turned 50, as most of us do if we're lucky enough and uh started the senior tour. You didn't waste any time, rookie of the year.

Jim Furyk 16:55

No, and I had an interest, I had the longest rookie season uh ever because I turned 50 during COVID. So the decision was made to kind of have a two-year season. So my rookie season really lasted for about 18 months. And uh it uh, you know, I didn't know what to expect. I knew that I was when I 49 to 50, I was gonna kind of finish out the uh the tour season and uh and then maybe go play. I played two events, both at the Ally and Flynn. I played at Pebble Beach at the Pier. I was able to win two of those, and then I went back and tried to kind of finish out the tour season, and then I decided, you know what, I'm gonna play the last four events on the Champions Tour schedule. I'm gonna see what I really think and get a feel for uh Champions Tour golf and uh and go play courses I've never seen before, where I'd already played War of Kills, I'd already played Pebble Beach, go play some courses I haven't seen and get a real feel for what's going on. And I just kind of really fell in love with it. You know, I didn't know what I'd think about three-round tournaments. Um I gotta tell you, I enjoy the cart and practice rounds and pro ams, greatest invention of all time. Um it takes a lot a lot less toll on your body. Um you know, I I like to say when I play the PJ tour, I get really tired of my four-iron and my five-wood because I hit them all the damn time. And I go on the champions tour and I get to hit my eight-iron again and my nine-iron, and I miss those games, man. It had been a long time since I'd hit them. And so uh kind of old friends that I hadn't been able to play with, and really just making a lot more birdies. You can be a lot more aggressive. Um I enjoyed playing it. And I realized it was kind of time to turn the page, and everyone's got to make that decision eventually, and it was just the right time for me. And so uh I found a new home. And Tabitha and I now are uh we last year in October, we had our first we host the Champions Tour event. Our foundation runs it. Um and so we had our uh constellation Furian friends here in Jacksonville, Florida, Timaquana Country Club. And so to kind of um, you know, uh I watched Davis Love kind of host RSM and Strickers, the host up at in Madison at the Ampham. You know, we always looked up to, you know, Arnie had Bay Hill and Myron Nelson in Dallas and Jack had the memorial, and and then Tiger was starting to host some events, and and you know, I I kind of it's really proud. Uh I'm humbled, and obviously don't don't put myself in the breath of those those gentlemen, but the fact that we could kind of run with that in Jacksonville in our hometown and and raise a bunch of money for charity here in Northeast Florida, we which we were already doing with uh a charitable golf tournament, but we've kind of transformed it and it's now now uh a champions tour event. I'm just really proud and really thankful for the support that we've gotten from the PJ Tour, the Champions Tour, uh our sponsors, the club, the town, all of our guests. It's really uh it's been a lot of fun. And so uh that transformation kind of for me, I already enjoyed the tour, but then to host your own event, it really has become complete for me.

Mike Gonzalez 19:49

Yeah, so that's uh for our listeners, that's October 7th through the 9th at Tim Oquana uh down in Jacksonville, Florida. And uh, it's close enough. I think I'm gonna come down and uh check that out for a day. So the other thing about the the the uh senior tour, of course, you've still got Bernhard chasing Hale Irwin, unbelievable. Uh he's two behind and is likely gonna catch him.

Jim Furyk 20:09

Nobody will catch those two. Nobody. I think Hale's 45 and Bernhard's 42. 43.

Bruce Devlin 20:16

43. Yeah.

Jim Furyk 20:18

Nobody is gonna do that again. And that um, period. It's not gonna happen. I don't care who it is, I don't care who we're talking about, um, the longevity of that and to stay that focused, to work that hard until you're you know, otherwise you're gonna have to basically win five events a year for your first ten years. And I just I just don't see it. I really don't. It's not gonna happen.

Bruce Devlin 20:40

So, Jimmy, we always uh well having had all you great players on, we always have a couple of questions or three questions we like to ask. Okay. And I and I'm gonna ask you the first one. If you knew what you know now when you first started on the tour, what would you have done differently?

Jim Furyk 21:09

Uh I probably I probably would have sought the help of a sports psychologist earlier. So I waited till I was 43 years old to see a sports psychologist. And it really wasn't even about my game. I was it was more on time management. It was more on managing my schedule and being away from my family when I first started talking to Bob. And then we kind of dive, you know, dove into to my game a little bit. But you know, I used to, when I was younger in my career, I'd say, why do I need someone to tell me what I should be thinking about? Like I don't want to be thinking about what I should be thinking about, you know. But uh it was just uh you know, I was a little being a little bit stubborn and and uh I think it would have helped. I think it would have helped me through some situations and and uh you know I think I could have possibly won some more events because of it, but uh I also

Mike Gonzalez 22:06

Alright Jim, we're gonna give you one career mulligan, where do you take it?

Jim Furyk 22:15

Sixteenth T at the Olympic Club 2012. I'm hitting uh a three which goes back in the bag and I'm hitting a hybrid off the T. Uh it was uh the the best play of the day was a hybrid hybrid and uh and a wedge and and uh maybe I make birdie. Actually, maybe I win that event. You know, I didn't all I had to do was make par and I had a really good chance to win that event. But uh I ended up making bogey and put myself kind of behind the eight ball. But uh yeah, I probab I I would have up until then it would have been the second 98, second shot at 15 at Augusta. And I tried to cut a three wood into a backright pin and I double crossed it, hit the slope, went in the water, made six. I birdied 16-17 and and lost well, I ended up losing by two. But at the time when I finished 18, I was one down, and then Omera made that putt. But uh until then it was that shot just because it was the Masters and it was my one best chance to win. But uh probably go with uh probably go with the Olympic Club for sure.

Mike Gonzalez 23:12

So your golf career, uh uh a lot of your golf story has been written, but you're still writing a bit of your story on the senior tour. But uh uh how would you like to be remembered as a golfer?

Jim Furyk 23:24

Uh I guess first and foremost, probably for for character, for being a gentleman, for um from that side of things, and I second as a fierce competitor, probably too. So I guess someone that uh someone that was a fierce competitor, but hopefully uh folks thought I did it the right way, if that makes sense.

Bruce Devlin 23:52

So, Jimmy, I want to say one thing. You were a fierce competitor, and you are a great gentleman. And both Mike and I want to thank you so much for being a part of For the Good of the Game, and uh hopefully in the years to come a lot of people will say, Who is that Jim Furick? and they'll know exactly where to go. Thanks for being with us, buddy.

Jim Furyk 24:17

I appreciate it, Bruce, and thank you, Mike. Pleasure.

Mike Gonzalez 24:20

Thank you for listening to another episode of For the Good of the Game. And please, wherever you listen to your podcast on Apple and Spotify, if you like what you hear, please subscribe, spread the word, and tell your friends until we tee it up again for the good of the game. So long, everybody.

Intro Music 24:44

It went, smack down the fairway. You're okay. Head west, it's down the middle of the west.