Jim Furyk won
again today, beating the odds to capture the Las Vegas Invitational for the third
time in five years.
With a six-year PGA Tour career that includes only one win outside Las Vegas,
Furyk crafted a closing 6-under 66 to hold off Jonathan Kaye by one stroke and
win $450,000.
Furyk becomes the first player to win the same tournament three times since Nick
Faldo won the Masters for the third time, in 1996.
The 29-year-old Furyk, whose looping swing is one of the tour's most unorthodox,
finished at 29-under 331 as he successfully defended his Las Vegas title.
He also won the tournament,
a pro-am format that is played over desert courses and usually yields very low
scores, in 1995.
Although he has become one of the tour's more consistent players, with 12 top
10 finishes in 1998 and eight this year, Furyk's only other career win was at
Hawaii in 1996.
Kaye, a self-taught golfer whose career was sidetracked by shoulder problems,
shot a 64 to earn $270,000, his biggest payday.
Temperatures were in the 70s and there was a slight breeze, similar to conditions
for the first three rounds of the five-day tournament, but a dramatic change from
Saturday. Winds gusting up to 40 mph had sent scores higher for that fourth round,
although Furyk shot a steady 71, and Kaye stayed close with a 73.
Kaye began the final round three shots behind Furyk and caught him with a birdie
on No. 11. Kaye bogeyed the next hole and Furyk parred, but Kaye drew even again
with a birdie on No. 13.
Furyk moved back in front with a birdie on 14, ending his string of seven consecutive
pars, and opened the lead to two shots with birdies on 15 and 16. He parred the
final two holes, and Kaye birdied the 18th for the final margin.
Kaye, whose best previous finish was second as a rookie in the 1995 Quad Cities
Classic, had been slowed by rotor cuff surgery in 1996. But, at age 29, he seems
to be coming into his own. He has finished in the top 10 four times this year,
including a tie for fourth at the B.C. Open.
Dudley Hart shot a 64 to take third, seven shots behind Furyk. Chris Perry's 68
gave him fourth at 21 under.
Fred Couples bounced back from a 79 on Saturday to finish with a 66 that put him
in a group tied for 10th at 17 under, along with Tommy Armour III. Armour, who
flirted with the PGA record of 59 when he shot a 60 on the second day, had a 77
in the wind on Saturday, but finished with a 69.
Divots:
Furyk earned more than $2 million last year without winning a title. His Las Vegas
cheque has earned $744,403, by far his best money year. ... Furyk won the tournament
last year with a 25-under 335, and finished 29 under in 1995. ... Kaye had seven
bogeys, six more than Furyk, over the five days, but had three eagles to none
for the winner.
