Furyk's class prevails in Canada
IN: News | US PGA | Canadian Open (2006) | Wrap | by Bruce Young | 11 Sep 2006
The pre-tournament talk was that the Hamilton Golf and Country Club, the venue for this week's Bell Canadian Open, would offer a golf course to suit the type of game that Jim Furyk possesses. He let no-one down with a narrow but convincing win over Bart Bryant.
It was Furyk's 12th USPGA Tour win but given his current form there is every reason there might be more in store before too long. First however he has Ryder Cup duties but there will be little doubt that his captain, Tom Lehman, will be licking his lips at the prospect of matching Furyk and Tiger Woods together in the early pairings at the K Club. They are the two hottest male players on the planet right now. Furyk has recorded five top fours in his last six starts, his marvellous percentage game of great benefit on some of the testing layouts played over recent weeks.
"It's real nice," said Furyk referring to the win. "Obviously I like the golf course because I won the golf tournament, but earlier in the week, I really enjoyed an old style golf course, really able to shoot the scores we did because of the soft conditions. We were fortunate that way. But it's a good golf course, and winning the third of the Open tournaments in golf is also a very proud moment."
Furyk has potentially a demanding schedule over the next few weeks to follow this week in contention. He will play next week at the HSBC World Match Play then the Ryder Cup and the American Express Championship.
Furyk's putting, always one of his strength's, was at its very best this week and he used it to save him on several occasions especially on Friday and Saturday. Mind you it would need to be good given the time he takes to take a putt. He backs off one or two times when over most putts and he must push the boundaries of time allowance on occasions. Today however, whatever the time taken, he hardly missed a beat as he turned a two shot deficit starting the day into a one shot victory over another whose game is built around accuracy, Bart Bryant.
Bryant's amazing season in 2005 when he won two high class events at the Memorial and the Tour Championship has been quickly forgotten, perhaps because of the low profile he has on the Tour. Wins in events of that quality don't come without a class game however and after a struggle early in the season he seems to have found something since midway through the WGC Bridgestone two weeks ago. In that event Bryant struggled to an 83 in round two but with no cut he was able to play the weekend at Firestone in three under and that form continued on this week.
Other than Furyk's fine win, the talking point of the final day was the two shot penalty imposed on Jonathan Byrd for supposedly testing the sand in a bunker away from the area where he would take his stance. It was again a call in from a television viewer that alerted authorities to the misdemeanour. It was a costly mistake as Byrd plummeted from a two way share of third to a five way share of fifth and a loss of US$130,000.
This issue again brings into question the rights or wrongs of notifying a player while still on the golf course that he may be subject to a penalty. Surely the better way is to advise them after the round is finished especially if there is still debate on whether the penalty will be imposed.
Sean O'Hair has given every indication in recent weeks that he is back to near his best and he further confirmed that this week when finishing alone in third. Brett Quigley again threatened to win his first event when finishing fourth.
The best of the Australians were Aaron Baddeley and Nathan Green who both finished in a share of 20th. Greg Chalmers was 35th and Peter Lonard, despite making yet another cut again finished well back.
The PGA Tour now heads back east to Pennsylvania and the 84 Lumber Classic.
Photo - Anthony Powter
