Biography
Furyk was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. At that time, his father Mike was an assistant pro at Edgmont Country Club and later also spent time as a pro at West Chester Golf and Country Club as well as Hidden Springs Golf Course in Horsham. His early years were spent in the Pittsburgh suburbs learning the game from his father, who was head pro at Uniontown Country Club. He graduated from Manheim Township High School in Lancaster County in 1988, where he played basketball in addition to being a state champion golfer. He played college golf at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he was an All-American twice and led the Wildcats to their first (and only) NCAA title in 1992.
Furyk turned professional in 1992 and won NIKE Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic on the Nike Tour in 1993. He joined the PGA Tour in 1994 and won at least one tournament each year between 1998 and 2003. At the time, this was the second-best streak of winning seasons behind Tiger Woods and he made the top ten in the Official World Golf Ranking. Furyk's biggest win to date came on June 16, 2003, when he tied the record for the lowest 72-hole score in U.S. Open history to win his first major championship.
In 2004, he only played in fourteen events after missing three months due to surgery to repair cartilage damage in his wrist; he missed six cuts and his highest finish was T6, which caused him to fall out of the top hundred on the money list. He returned to good form in 2005 and regained his top ten ranking, winning a PGA Tour event in that year and two in 2006.
In the 2006 season, he finished a career-high second on the money list and won the Vardon Trophy for the first time. He also had a career-best thirteen top-10 finishes, including nine top-3s, four second-place finishes, and two victories.
The only instructor he has ever used is his father, Mike Furyk, which may account for his unusual swing. His caddy is Mike "Fluff" Cowan, who was Tiger Woods' caddy for Woods' first two years as a professional.
The 2010 season was a banner one for Furyk. After going more than two seasons winless, he won a career-best three tournaments on Tour in 2010: The Transitions Championship, the Verizon Heritage, and the season-ending Tour Championship. Furyk's victory in the Tour Championship also earned him the 2010 FedEx Cup after winning by one stroke. His accomplishments in 2010 won him both the PGA Player of the Year and PGA Tour Player of the Year for the first time.
Read more about this topic: Jim Furyk
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