PGA Tour: Inside Jim Furyk’s Record-Setting Round of 58
Jim Furyk’s final round of 58 at the Travelers Championship was the lowest 18-hole score in PGA Tour history. Here’s how he got it done.
“I’m still a little stunned and a little flabbergasted,” Jim Furyk said to the media after shooting 58 in the final round of last week’s PGA Tour event, the Travelers Championship. It’s the lowest score in any round in the history of the PGA Tour. Realistically, though, he’s also one of a handful of men who have posted a 59 in a PGA Tour event. He certainly didn’t see it coming.
“I played pretty well in Canada but really struggled through the week at the PGA,” he said. “I think I finished around 70th for the week. I was in that position starting this morning.”
But some mornings are more special than others, and August 7 was definitely a memorable one for the PGA Tour veteran, whose 17 victories include the 2003 U.S. Open. It just didn’t seem like it was going to be when he started out.
More from Pro Golf Now
- Golf Rumors: LIV set to sign Masters Champion in stunning deal
- Fantasy Golf: Grant Thornton Invitational DFS Player Selections
- Brutal return leaves Will Zalatoris looking towards 2024
- Stars You Know at World Champions Cup Starts Thursday at Concession
- Fantasy Golf: An Early Look at the 2024 Masters Tournament
“I’ve really been struggling a little bit with my golf swing. Playing okay but not hitting the ball the way I expect and wanted to, and for the last couple of weeks,” he admitted. “I think playing Baltusrol [at the PGA Championship], being a long golf course, being a really wet golf course, I think, put a little pressure on my game and got my swing a little long, trying to hit the ball probably a little farther and not knowing it or not doing it consciously.”
When his swing gets long, he added, his upper and lower body get out of sync, making it hard for him to hit it straight.
“It took me a bunch of rounds of golf to kind of figure it out and to get back in the swing of things, and started to work on it on Friday, played a good round, but kind of lost that feel yesterday,” he explained.
He sent texts and a video to his dad, a PGA pro and his one and only teacher. They then worked on his setup. On Sunday, he was just trying to shorten up his swing and make it a tighter rather than looser motion. Whatever they did worked magnificently.
In an odd quirk of fate, Furyk said having the experience of shooting 59 on the PGA Tour helped him to reach 58.
“I was better prepared this time for it because I had gone through it once before,” he explained. “In both rounds I went out in the first side and shot eight-under-par.”
The score on the front, a 27, he added, caused him to raise an eyebrow. For the 22-year PGA Tour veteran, that’s a lot.
“This time, birdieing 10, 11, 12, I think there I birdied two, three and four, and so I’ve got it under par. I’ve got it to 11-under-par through 12 today,” he recalled. “Then in both situations I kind of hit a little lull in the middle of that second side, and I did that today, although it was a positive one.”
He said his drives were good at the 13th, 14th and 15th. He did not go for the green on 13, a par 5, because his ball was in a divot, and it was 3-wood distance. That would have been a low-percentage shot to try. Instead, he chose a 7 iron and then hit wedge to the green.
“I guess had I never shot 59 before, I probably would have been thinking 59, the barrier,” he admitted. “But the fact that I did it three years ago, you know, in the back of my mind I’ve got 11-under through 12, I’ve got six holes to play. If I play them under par, I’m going to break another barrier.”
The 16th hole was critical to his setting the new PGA Tour record.
“The putt at 16 was huge, to see that go in and get it to 12-under-par, and then it was, again, fighting emotions,” he added. “A lot can go wrong at 17, so getting the ball in the fairway there was key. I hit one in the water early in the week.”
He said he hit a guided tee ball at 17 but hit a good second shot and managed a par, which was just what he needed. Only one hole stood between him and PGA Tour history.
“At 18, I wanted to keep a little short right of the pin, and I think that shot from 17 was in my mind. I didn’t want to go ahead and gas it again by the hole, and just came up a little bit short,” he admitted. “But hit a good first putt, and it’s nice when the second ones are mindless and they’re up there about a foot.”
More from Golf History
- Stars You Know at World Champions Cup Starts Thursday at Concession
- “Love Weather” Dominates at RSM Classic: Rain and Wind and Golf
- Davis Love III, Zach Johnson Reflect on What They Learned as Ryder Cup Captains
- Reflections on a Pilgrimage to the Home of Golf
- David Duval Says Memories Abound at Constellation Furyk & Friends
So, technically, he had a putt for a 57. But he was happy to make the 58.
“You don’t wake up on Sunday morning with an 8:41 tee time thinking that anything exciting is going to happen. I mean, really on those days the most exciting thing that can happen is the group in front of you plays quick and your flight takes off a little early and you get home is usually what you’re looking to do,” he said. “To get out there and make a bunch of birdies and get the juices flowing and feel like I was in the hunt in a golf tournament was kind of cool.”
In light of the last 10 months, that’s nor surprising. Furyk was injured at the end of last year and underwent wrist surgery in February. He was sidelined from the PGA Tour until May, and his practice sessions were limited so as to not damage the wrist again. He was on a ball count, he said at The Players.
“It’s kind of a reminder no matter how bad you feel with your swing, you’re never that far away, or no matter how good you feel you’re probably not that far away from playing poorly, as well,” Furyk, now the philosopher, added. “I went out yesterday and really didn’t have command of the golf ball, and turned around and played pretty much a flawless round of golf today.”
Here’s how Furyk set the new PGA Tour record, according to the man himself.
No. 1: Driver, 9 iron, about 15 feet, missed birdie putt.
No. 2: Driver, 60-degree wedge, about 15 feet, made the putt.
No. 3: Driver and a pitching wedge that was holed.
No. 4: Hit driver. Ball was in a divot. Hit 4 iron to about four feet, made the putt.
No. 5: Hybrid about 25 feet, two putts.
No. 6: Driver and a 3-wood, almost pin high, about three yards off the green. Putted it up to about four feet and made for birdie.
No. 7: Driver, 9 iron to about a foot.
No. 8: 4 iron, about 12 to 15 feet, made birdie putt.
No. 9: Hybrid, pitching wedge to about a foot. Made putt.
No. 10: Driver, 8 iron, about 12 feet, made putt.
No. 11: 9 iron, about 15 feet, made putt.
No. 12: 3-wood, 9 iron, about six feet, made putt.
No. 13: Driver, in a divot. 7 iron and sand wedge to about 25 feet, two putts.
No. 14: Driver, 9 iron to about 10 feet, two putts.
No. 15: Driver just a few yards short of the green. 7 iron bump-and-run about eight feet past and lipped out putt for par.
No. 16: 8 iron to about 20 feet, made putt.
No. 17: Hybrid, 8 iron, about 30 feet past, two putts.
No. 18: Driver, 9 iron to about 20 feet. Two putts.
The course is a par 70 with a par of 35 on each side. Furyk had six birdies and an eagle on the front and four birdies on the back. He had no bogeys.
Next: John Deere Classic Power Rankings
PGA Tour fans: what was your favorite moment from Jim Furyk’s 58? Let us know in the comments, and keep it here at Pro Golf Now for more news from the PGA Tour.