Former US Open victor Jim Furyk fired the lowest single round score in PGA Tour history yesterday by shooting a 58 during the final round of the Travelers Championship.
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Russell Knox of Scotland shot a 68 to finish at 14 under par and win the tournament.
Furyk, 46, victor of the 2003 U.S. Open, had 10 birdies and one eagle in the final round at TPC River Highlands on Sunday.
He finished at 11-under 269 on Sunday. When he rebounded with a birdie on the short par-4 15th, combined with a bogey by Russell Henley, he shared the lead for the first time Sunday with Henley and Knox at 13-under.
Furyk has a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Constellation and has enjoyed a long relationship with Exelon, Constellation’s parent company, serving as host of the Exelon Invitational tournament in Pennsylvania from 1999 to 2010. Thomas spoke about Furyk’s round with an equal appreciation. And what’s curious about that is if you look really close, you’ll notice that Furyk was nearly put down for a 3 by playing partner Miguel Angel Carballo on the par-4 14th (on the PGA Tour, as in most competitive golf settings, players’ scores are kept by their playing partner).
Victory has seen Knox vault up the Ryder Cup World Points list and is now right in the hunt for a place in Team Europe with a couple of events still to play before the August 28 qualifying deadline.
“I’m hitting it well, I’m putting it well, it’s trying to find a way to stay out of your own way really”, he said.
“There are a lot of rounds by a lot of great players ahead of me that have never reached 58. Obviously, you have to play unbelievable to shoot 58 – or 62, even – but I understand you can get it going”. “I looked at Fluff and said let’s forget about the front nine and go and fire a good number on the back”.
Furyk is the first player to break 60 twice in competition on a major professional Tour. “But, this is about the best I’ve played of any year too”. “I birdied 10, birdied 11, birdied 12 and then it becomes a mental struggle”.
Furyk is the second player to card 58 on an internationally-recognised tour, joining Japanese Ryo Ishikawa, who shot 12-under 58 in the final round of the Crowns tournament on the Japan Tour in 2010. The 46-year-old made an eagle, 10 birdies and seven pars en route to his record-breaking 58. “To have a little small place in history is simply a dream”.
Pennsylvania-born Furyk, 46, a 17-times victor on tour, has made a career out of his machine-like consistency with his unique swing, and he was in that mode on Sunday, hitting all 18 greens in regulation.
For Knox, it was a second triumph of the season after his maiden victory at the WGC – HSBC Champions in November, and will keep him in the thoughts of European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke for next month’s contest at Hazeltine.
Former FSU star Daniel Berger began the day at 15 under with a three-stroke lead, but he finished with 74 and a four-way tie at 11 under.
“I made it a big deal”, Knox said. He made five straight birdies to close his front nine and added four more on the back (along with a bogey) for his first top-10 finish since The Players Championship in May.
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“I felt like the Incredible Hulk”, he quipped. “It’s been an enjoyable ride”.
