Jim Furyk: Forget Lefty… can Furyk win on the PGA Tour again?

Phil Mickelson isn’t the only great golfer to join the 50 club. Jim Furyk is there as well and faces the same question as Lefty. Can he ever win again on the PGA Tour?

I’ll admit that Jim Furyk isn’t in the same league as Phil Mickelson. He is my all-time favorite golfer that doesn’t go by the name of a kitty cat. However, he finds himself sitting at the mid-century mark for his age.

At 50, he is looking to do something that hasn’t been accomplished by many in the history of the PGA Tour. Get a win on the PGA Tour once becoming eligible for the Champions Tour.

Only seven people have ever done it, and making it even tougher, it has only happened three times in the last 44 years. The bright side is that all three of those have come since 2003.

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Craig Stadler did it at 50 years and one month, winning in 2003. Fred Funk won in 2007 at 50 years and eight months old. Davis Love III tops them, winning at 51 years old and four months back in 2015.

Amidst such a small list, can Jim Furyk join the mid-century club of winners?

When I look at his chances, I can see the arguments to make both for and against. Every year players are in better shape, taking their health and physicality more seriously. No more waddling down the course (although it didn’t stop the Walrus himself, Stadler), as players that are now 50 are in better shape than the majority of guys who played 30 years ago.

Take a look at Phil, he might be in the best shape of his life.

Jim Furyk seems to be in pretty good shape as well. It could be his saving grace, and the biggest obstacle to overcome will likely be having the stamina to make it through four straight days of golf. That’s what happened to him this week. After starting off the tournament with rounds of 72-68, he was at -4 and within sight of the leaderboard.

He fell off after, shooting 79-77.

The other side though is that same physicality. There are more young bombers and studs than there has been at any point in history. Jim Furyk still averages 281.0 yards off the tee… good for 210th on the PGA Tour. 18 years ago this would be the average length. 30 years ago, it would’ve led the PGA Tour. Now, he is nearly 20 yards behind the average.

Again, there is a bright side to look at for Furyk. He may not bomb it, but more often than any other player on Tour, you know where it is going to land. Furyk hits fairways at an incredible clip of 77.14%. This leads to another Tour leading stat of 76.34% of GIR hit. He is always on the fairway, and he finds nearly every green.

The lack of length means eagles are nearly impossible on today’s mammoth courses. As you see as players age, his putting has fallen as well, where he sits 138th on Tour, losing .113 strokes per round.

Each tournament, his chances are going to lessen as he gets closer to the all-time record of Sam Snead, who won when he was 52 years and 10 months old. Jim Furyk is already 50 years and two months old. He may not be able to take down the field in a standard, full-field PGA Tour event. We did see a PGA Tour record four players aged 50 or older make the cut this week. So they can still play.

His best chances are likely going to be early season events. The fields are less talented, and the elder statesmen know exactly what to expect from these late fall events. If Jim Furyk is going to find another win on the PGA Tour, this is where he is going to have to do it.