Furyk fueled by innate toughness

Only seven seconds remained in the high school basketball playoff game and Jim Furyk's Manheim Township team was one point behind Lebanon as it ducked into a huddle to plot its potentially season-saving possession.

Furyk, the point guard, listened as his coach, Pat Mowrey, detailed Manheim's final possession. The ball would come to Furyk, who would look to pass to a teammate down low or at the top of the key, making him the set-up man for the critical shot.

Breaking the huddle, Furyk asked Mowrey if he could take the final shot. After a moment's consideration, Mowrey told his point guard he could take the shot, but only if he were open.

As planned, the ball came to Furyk, who had a defender on him while curling off a screen. As the final seconds ticked away, Furyk chose the option he believed in—himself—and launched an 18-foot jump shot with a hand in his face.

Splash.

Manheim wins. Furyk is the hero.

Later that evening, Furyk's father, Mike, asked his son why he took the shot despite being covered.

"Because," Furyk said, "I was the only guy on the team who could handle missing."

The basketball from that game is in a glass case in Furyk's home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., a 30th birthday present from Manheim teammate Cory Wright, one of the options Furyk bypassed on the final play in 1987.

There is also a collection of 12 PGA Tour trophies that belong to Furyk, including the 2006 Wachovia Championship and the 2003 U.S. Open, each of which can be traced back to the same streak of toughness that made Furyk willing to put a season in his hands as a high school junior.

"Looking back, that was one of the first times when Jim wanted to do it himself," Wright said. "It's part of what's made him what he is."

Had he wanted, Furyk could have been the high school quarterback in the fall at Manheim Township, the point guard in winter and the catcher in the spring. He was that good an athlete. But in the summer before he entered the ninth grade, golf began to capture Furyk.

He learned the game from his father, who had been a club pro before becoming an equipment salesman. Furyk trusted his father, who took what came natural to his son and built a swing and game around it.

A generation ago, you could stand 200 yards away and identify professional golfers by the unique characteristics in their swings. Today, with Furyk being a rare exception, it's hard to tell players apart because their swings, constantly coached and polished, are so similar.

Furyk is instantly recognizable and it's not because of his slightly unconventional swing. It's because he's the world's second-ranked player, behind his friend Tiger Woods, and because he's become one of the best players of his generation.

Wright, who has known Furyk for nearly 30 years, said though his friend's lifestyle has changed, allowing him a vacation home in Kapalua, Hawaii, Furyk is the same person he knew growing up in western Pennsylvania.

"That's the highest compliment I can give him," Wright said.

It's why Furyk has maintained contact with a core of friends from his youth. It's why he's stuck by his father's teachings and stayed with the same business manager and caddie for years. Furyk is as grounded as an old oak tree and just as solid.

Methodical and organized, loyalty runs deep in the 36-year old Furyk.

He has never sought the spotlight that has come with his success but he isn't burdened by celebrity the way Woods and some others are.

"I can take my wife and two kids to dinner and enjoy it and not feel like The Beatles," Furyk said.

On the course, Furyk has a sometimes stern demeanor as he goes about his work but he has a sneaky good sense of humor, one of the reasons he and Woods work so well as partners in Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups. When Furyk finds an opening, he'll attack it.

"You watch Jimmy and you think he's into it a lot, which he is, but he's actually pretty funny out there," Woods said at the Ryder Cup last fall. "The comments he'll make under his breath as I'm just walking along, that's pretty funny."

When CBS commentator David Feherty says Furyk's swing "looks like an octopus falling out of a tree" or a writer compares his choice of golf attire to bowling shirts, Furyk can laugh.

He's a guy at home in shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops. He loves to cook breakfast for his two children, often egg whites and oatmeal.

Once a week, Furyk takes his daughter, Caleigh, on a date night while his wife, Tabitha, takes their son, Tanner. One night a week when they're home, Jim and Tabitha have their own date night.

Furyk likes a beer after a round of golf and a glass of wine with dinner.

He's learning magic tricks for his children and clears time in his busy schedule to be with his children.

And then there's football.

The perfect Furyk weekend—excluding those that end with him holding a trophy over his head—starts with a Saturday at Ohio State, where Tabitha attended college, using their season tickets to watch the Buckeyes.

From there, it's a quick trip to Pittsburgh where they also have season tickets to watch the Steelers.

"I'm just happy being the average football fan," Furyk said. "I enjoy having a beer, watching the game and hanging out with the other idiots."

Just a guy who knows what it takes to win.

Provider:
Knight-Ridder / Tribune Business News / Charlotte Observer, The (NC)