Jim Furyk

Jim Furyk, born James Michael Furyk on May 12, 1970, in West Chester, Pennsylvania, is an American professional golfer and analyst currently competing on both the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. His standout year came in 2010, when he won the FedEx Cup and was named PGA Tour Player of the Year. His lone major victory came at the 2003 U.S. Open. Furyk also holds the PGA Tour’s all-time record for the lowest single round, a 58 he carded in the final round of the 2016 Travelers Championship. He is widely known for his unconventional swing.

Furyk’s father, Mike, worked as an assistant pro at Edgmont Country Club and later as a pro at West Chester Golf and Country Club and Hidden Springs Golf Course in Horsham, Pennsylvania. Growing up in the Pittsburgh suburbs, Jim learned the game from his father, who also served as head pro at Uniontown Country Club. He attended Manheim Township High School in Lancaster County, graduating in 1988, where he played basketball and won a state golf title. His junior golf was played at Meadia Heights Golf Club. At the University of Arizona, he was a two-time All-American and helped the Wildcats capture their first and only NCAA championship in 1992.

Turning professional in 1992, Furyk won the Nike Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic on the Nike Tour the following year. He joined the PGA Tour in 1994 and won at least one event each year from 1998 through 2003, a streak second only to Tiger Woods at the time, which pushed him into the world’s top ten. His biggest win came on June 15, 2003, when he tied the U.S. Open record for the lowest 72-hole score to claim his first major.

In 2004, wrist surgery sidelined him for three months, limiting him to 14 events and causing him to miss six cuts, with a best finish of T6, dropping him outside the top 100 on the money list. He rebounded in 2005, regaining his top-ten ranking and winning a PGA Tour event, then added two wins in 2006. That season, he finished a career-high second on the money list, earned his first Vardon Trophy, and posted 13 top-10 finishes, including nine top-3s and four runner-up spots.

After a winless stretch of over two years, 2010 became a banner season. Furyk won three Tour events: the Transitions Championship, the Verizon Heritage, and the season-ending Tour Championship. That final victory, by one stroke, also secured the FedEx Cup. His performance earned him both PGA Player of the Year and PGA Tour Player of the Year honors for the first time.

From 2012 onward, Furyk came close to adding more titles but fell short. At the 2012 U.S. Open, he led after 54 holes and held the lead deep into the final round until a snap-hooked drive into the trees at the 16th led to a bogey, followed by another at the 18th, leaving him tied for fourth, two strokes behind Webb Simpson. At the 2012 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, he led after three rounds and held a one-stroke lead on the final hole, but a double-bogey handed the title to Keegan Bradley. At the 2013 PGA Championship, he led Jason Dufner by one going into the final round but lost ground on the front nine, eventually losing by two. His caddie from 1999 to 2024 was Mike “Fluff” Cowan, who had previously caddied for Tiger Woods.

On September 13, 2013, Furyk shot a 12-under 59 in the second round of the BMW Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club, becoming the sixth player in PGA Tour history to break 60. In July 2014, he held a three-stroke 54-hole lead at the RBC Canadian Open, but Tim Clark birdied five of his last eight holes to win after Furyk missed a 12-foot putt on the 18th to force a playoff. At the 2015 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, he led by one going into the final round but shot a 74, finishing six strokes behind Brandt Snedeker—the worst final-round score among the top 50. That left him 0-for-9 when holding a lead or co-lead after 54 holes since his 2010 Tour Championship win. He ended that drought on April 19, 2015, by beating Kevin Kisner with a birdie on the second playoff hole at the RBC Heritage, his second win at that event and his 17th PGA Tour victory.

Later in 2015, Furyk withdrew from the BMW Championship due to a wrist injury—his first withdrawal since 1995—at the same course where he had shot 59 two years earlier. He qualified for the 2015 Presidents Cup team but could not play because of the injury, serving as an assistant captain instead; J. B. Holmes replaced him. After undergoing wrist surgery, Furyk missed the early part of the 2016 season, including the Masters, ending a streak of 47 consecutive major appearances. At the 2016 U.S. Open, he tied for second, three shots behind Dustin Johnson, after a final-round 66.