Furyk, the 2003 US Open champion, recorded one eagle and 10 birdies on the River Highlands course in Cromwell.
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“There’s a lot of rounds by a lot of great players ahead of me that have never reached 58”, said Furyk, who was the last of six PGA Tour players to shoot a 59 three years ago.
Furyk’s score matched Stephan Jaeger’s 58 at the Web.com tour Ellie Mae Classic on July 31.
Scotland’s, Russell Knox, has won his second PGA Tour title with victory at the Travelers Championship today but it was the heroics of Jim Furyk that stole the show.
Knox recorded a final round of 68 to finish at 14-under-par to finish one shot clear of Jerry Kelly.
The runner-up finish moved Kelly up 63 spots into 75th position in the FedExCup standings, safely into the playoffs and with a decision to make – one that is easy for him: Kelly will play mainly on the Champions Tour next year instead of the PGA Tour.
A four-under-par 66 ensured Marc Leishman was the best-placed Australian as he finished in a tie for ninth, four shots behind Knox.
When he finished, Furyk was in a tie for fifth place.
Daniel Berger led the tournament going into the last day but his four-over 74 saw him drop out of contention, with four straight bogeys on the start of his back nine ruining his title chances.
“It’s an fantastic feeling”, said Knox.
“I mean, golf is so hard, you lose every week pretty much, and to make that putt, I mean, it’s just the greatest feeling ever”.
Kelly, who is from Wisconsin, soaked up the significant applause from the fans as he walked up the 18th fairway. “The people were fantastic. I’ll just try to keep playing well right now and hopefully everything will take care of itself”, he said. “In both rounds, I went off on the first side and shot 8-under-par”. It was really fun.
Patrick Reed: I loved seeing Reed rock his U.S. Olympic bag a week early at this tournament. Everyone’s so great, so positive. “I consider this a hometown tournament for me”. There’s no Milwaukee anymore. You don’t want to invest in a big favorite like that and see them miss the cut, so the fact that Jimenez placed a very close second was rewarding enough to those who backed him in golf fantasy. 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). He last won at the 2015 RBC Heritage.
“I think I was better prepared this time for it because I had gone through it once before”, Furyk said.
His previous experience shooting a 59 helped.
“I guess had I never shot 59 before, I probably would have been thinking 59, the barrier”, 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”.
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The finalists earned spots in the U.S. Women’s Open next year at Trump National in New Jersey, and the victor also traditionally receives exemptions into the ANA Inspiration, Women’s British Open and Evian Championship – all only if still an amateur.
