Ziehm: Furyk back at BMW where he hit a 59

Jim Furyk wasn't happy to hear about the changes made to the Conway Farms course in preparation for this week's BMW Championship.

"Bummer," he said. "Now I've got to learn it all over again."

Well, hardly. Tuesday was the practice day for the 70 players who will begin the 72-hole $8.25 million competition Thursday at the Lake Forest layout. They're finding the changes to the course from 2013 relatively minor and - even without practice - it's safe to assume Furyk knows the course well.

Two years ago he covered it in 59 strokes in the first BMW Championship played here.

Furyk didn't win that tournament - he finished third, three strokes behind champion Zach Johnson - but his second round made him the sixth player to break 60 in a PGA Tour event, joining Al Geiberger, Chip Beck, David Duval, Paul Goydos and Stuart Appleby.

"It was a pretty incredible feeling," said Furyk, looking ahead to the third tournament of the four-event FedEx Cup Playoffs. "I got off to a great start, held it together in the middle after three-putting No. 5 and then had the mental hurdle of making birdies on two of the last four. My attitude and thinking process throughout that day was as good as it's ever been."

Luke Donald, the former world No. 1 and a Conway Farms member, remains dazzled by what Furyk did. Donald's best round on his home course is 61.

"It's the type of course you can see that number if you're really on," Donald said. "But Jim did it on a cold, windy day when the next best score was 65. That round was special."

Matt Slowinski, Conway Farms' head pro, labeled the chance for another sub-60 score this week as "doubtful," but he can't forget the day that Furyk did it.

"That day he would have shot 59 no matter where he played, the way he chipped and putted," said Slowinski.

Although the tournament wasn't half over, Furyk admitted to feeling the pressure.

"I remember with a couple holes left thinking, 'How many times in your life will you get a chance to do something like this?' " he said. "You should enjoy it, but don't let it slip by."

He didn't, but there is a touch of mystery connected to that epic day. Furyk posed for photographers with a ball emblazoned with the numbers "59."

Now he admits that the ball in the well-circulated photo wasn't the ball he used to shoot the low score. A PGA Tour media official took a ball from Furyk's bag and wrote the "59" on it. The ball that Furyk used is in his workshop at home, but not on display.

"We don't display stuff," he said. "I might have the glove I used. I do have a stack of flags that I sign for charities."

His lack of interest in memorabilia isn't limited to the record round, either. Witness what happened to the reward for his victory in the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields - the lone win in a major for the 45-year tour veteran.

"We don't have a trophy room," said Furyk. "The U.S. Open trophy sat in the kitchen for maybe six months. Everyone who came by had a drink out of it."

The 12-under-par round at Conway hasn't been challenged by PGA Tour players since the 2013 BMW Championship. Last year's tournament was played at Cherry Hills in Denver, with Billy Horschel winning the title.

Furyk enters this BMW Championship in ninth place in the playoff standings. He won the $10 million bonus as FedEx Cup champion in 2010 and is in good position to crack the top 30 who qualify for next week's Tour Championship in Atlanta. That's where this year's bonus will be awarded and Furyk could win it again.

Going into the BMW, though, Furyk trails Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson, Bubba Watson, Charley Hoffman, Zach Johnson and Dustin Johnson.

Day and Spieth faced the media on Tuesday with playoff leader Day welcoming the return to Conway Farms. He tied for fourth at the first BMW played there two years ago when Zach Johnson won.

"A fun course to play," said Day, "especially with the holes coming in - the par-5 18th, the drivable par-4 (No. 15). I'm not sure 16-under is going to win it again. I'll get a better indication once I get on the course."

That will come mainly on Wednesday, when he'll be part of the daylong Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am.

• For more golf news, visit lenziehmongolf.com. Follow him on Twitter@ZiehmLen.