Putter betrays Furyk again as Johnson takes BMW
Somewhere Fred Couples is nodding his head.
No, he’s not smiling, because no golfer wants to see another fail, but Couples bypassed Jim Furyk for the Presidents Cup team and then had to watch as Furyk shot a 59 on Friday at the BMW Championships, displaying sure hands and a spectacular touch around the greens.
But Couples probably made his decision to skip Furyk after his disaster in the Ryder Cup last fall, when Furyk went to pieces on the back nine at Medinah.
He remembered Furyk at Olympic Club last June in the U.S. Open, when Furyk snap-hooked a 3-wood into the forest preserves on 16 to lose the tournament, handing it to first-time major winner Webb Simpson.
There was Furyk last summer trying to go wire-to-wire in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational when a double-bogey on 18 cost him the victory and a one-shot defeat to Keegan Bradley.
That was all in 2012, and still Davis Love picked Furyk for the Ryder Cup team, a decision that will haunt Love and Team USA for many years.
Earlier this season, Furyk could not trade blows with another first-time major champ in Jason Dufner, who took the PGA Championship away from Furyk on Sunday.
So Mr. 59 entered play Monday with the lead in the rain-delayed BMW and a chance to stick it to Captain Couples, but it was yet another final round heartbreaker for the 43-year-old Furyk.
Instead, it was Zach Johnson coming from off the pace to shoot a bogey-free, final-round 65 — with a 3-under on the back — to win the first BMW at Conway Farms at 16-under par.
Furyk, meanwhile, is now 0-for-6 the last half-dozen times he has possessed the 54-hold lead, and it was the back nine again Monday afternoon on a generous course that did him in.
Actually, it was Furyk’s putter that did him in.
Furyk 3-putted the par-3 11th for bogey, missing a short par putt, and missed another three-foot putt for par on 13 after his approach came up far short of the green.
And after Johnson birdied 15 and 16 right in front of Furyk to take the lead in the tournament, Furyk responded with a tee shot into the bunker on 16, bogeyed the hole and the tournament was over. Nick Watney finished second at -14 and Furyk ended up 3 shots back.
While it was more last-day misery for Furyk, who closed with a 37, it was grand satisfaction for Johnson. He skipped the first round of the FedEx Cup playoffs at Liberty National to attend his brother’s wedding 20 miles from Conway Farms, and used that chance to familiarize himself with a course that only Luke Donald already knew.
“It was huge because you just want to get your feet on the ground and get used to the course,’’ Johnson said Monday after he held the BMW trophy. “The very next day was my brother’s wedding, so it was a perfect weekend.’’
Even though he skipped the first playoff event, with the win Monday Johnson moves to No. 4 in the FedEx Cup standings and can win the $10 million prize with a victory in Atlanta this weekend.
“I’m going to have to forget about this week and I’m going to have to take Atlanta for Atlanta and just play,’’ Johnson said. “East Lake is not Conway Farms. It’s a beast. It’s a classic, a challenge that I think myself and all my peers really get juiced up for.’’
Two weeks after the Tour Championship will be the Presidents Cup at Muirfield. Missing that weekend in New York, which allowed Johnson to play Conway early, nearly cost Johnson a spot on Team USA.
But on the final hole at TPC Boston Labor Day weekend — while playing in a group with Webb Simpson — Johnson birdied the last hole to secure 10th place and the final guaranteed position on the team.
That knocked Simpson off the squad, but Couples used his first captain’s pick on Simpson, and then grabbed up rookie phenom Jordan Spieth, casting aside Furyk and his issues under pressure.
“Fred made his selections,’’ Furyk said after shooting 59 Friday. “I was disappointed. I was bummed, but I’m not a spiteful person.
“I didn’t go out there (to shoot 59) with a chip on my shoulder to prove anything to anyone this week. I feel like my career has spoken for itself, and I really don’t have anything to prove to anyone.’’
No, Furyk has nothing to prove and, yes, he has had a great a career, but finishing has been and remains an issue, even on a course as forgiving as Conway Farms.
“Had it not been for Zach, I would have still had a really good opportunity to win the golf tournament,’’ Furyk said. “I hit the ball plenty good enough today, but I didn’t make the putts when I needed to.’’
On Monday, as the PGA closed the doors on Chicago golf for two years, truer words were not spoken.
brozner@dailyherald.com
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