Furyk a quiet favourite for US Open title

Jim Furyk hasn't won a PGA Tour event this year, but he's been as close to the winner as anyone, week in and week out.

The West Chester, Pa., native and Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., resident struggles with being satisfied with a top-10 finish almost every week and wanting to add to a record that already shows seven victories.

There's a near-consensus among his peers that Furyk has the no-frills, low-risk game that should result in major championships at some point in his career and since he's putting himself in position to win so frequently this year, he's among the pre-tournament favorites this week at the U.S. Open.

"I like the course (Olympia Fields) . . . I really like the course," Furyk said Wednesday on one of the practice putting greens, behind the 18th hole that he obviously would like to be the stage for victory come Sunday.

"Should I win a U.S. Open? 'Should' is a strong word. But I have the capability of winning this tournament. I have the game for it."

After a short list of defending champion Tiger Woods, Masters champion Mike Weir, Players Championship winner and money-list leader Davis Love III of St. Simons Island, and major heartbreaker Phil Mickelson, Furyk seems to be entering tomorrow's first round with as much momentum as any other player.

Furyk's tie for fifth three weeks ago at the Bank of America Colonial was his Tour-high 10th of the season, coming in just 14 starts. He's missed only one cut, is sixth on the current money list and is just pocket change away from topping his career high in earnings, more than $2.5 million in 2001.

A relentless game of hitting fairways and greens (he's third in driving accuracy on Tour this year, and 13th in greens in regulation) would appear to blend well with success in the U.S. Open. But after finishing tied for 17th or better in the Open four years in a row from 1996 to 1999, Furyk has finished 60th, tied for 62nd and a missed cut.

"I haven't played nearly as well as I would have liked the last couple of years," he said.

Furyk is both encouraged and perplexed about his 2003 season so far. While his double-digit top-10 finishes display a remarkable run of consistency matched only by money list leader and Players Championship winner Davis Love, Masters champion Mike Weir and three-time winner Tiger Woods, Furyk shades his thinking along more self-critical lines.

"I'd be lying if I said, in one respect, that it's been a little frustrating to play really well this year, and not get a win in at least one of those tournaments," he said. "Sometimes a top-10 is really not all that close to a win. You can have a top-10 like the week I had at Colonial, but Kenny Perry ran away with it. I'm happy I'm playing well most weeks, and overall, it's been a very positive year. My game is in very good shape. But you get that little taste and you get frustrated."

Furyk actually has been playing at a high level longer than that. Since the last of his seven career victories last year at the Memorial Tournament, Furyk has been among the top-10 in 16-of-26 starts, a percentage of .615.

Only Tiger Woods (18) has finished among the top-10 more frequently over the same number of recent starts.

"You can make a case for Jim playing as well, week-to-week, as anyone," said Love. "There are some guys, like Lanny Wadkins, who weren't interested in where they finished if they couldn't win. That's not to say Jim doesn't want to win. He does. But he's like me. You look at a lot of top-10s as a very good indication you're playing well, and if you keep it up, you're going to win."

Len Mattiace said the key to Furyk's game is that he rarely plays his way out of contention.

"He hits it very straight and has more distance than people think," Mattiace said. "Jim doesn't take himself out of tournaments very often. He's probably been one of the steadiest players we've seen out here in the last few years. He does everything well and he's a hard worker."

Furyk said winning this week will require his game to be at a peak, with a few of the breaks that make the difference in winning or losing majors.

"You can say the course or the way they set up U.S. Opens matches my game, but I've still got to go out and perform," he said. "But I'm going to be patient. I figure I'll have 15 or 20 cracks at this tournament by the time I'm done."

Furyk's father Mike, a former club professional and the only teacher his son has ever relied on, said the signs may indicate an Open title sooner than that.

"He's hitting the ball as well as anyone right now," Mike Furyk said. "If Jim keeps giving himself chances he's going to win one of these."