Sports Then and Now

Jim Furyk struggled in the final round of the Heritage.

Jim Furyk’s defense of his Heritage title from last year ended badly as the American failed to capitalize on an impressive opening three rounds in South Carolina at the weekend. The 2003 Open Champion has struggled to find any consistency this season and that showed as Furyk shot a disappointing final round 76, which saw him drop down the leader board like a stone.

Starting the final day just a shot behind overnight leader Luke Donald, Furyk will have been confident after shooting three consecutive rounds in the 60’s but that confidence slowly evaporated throughout the day. By the time Furyk’s group containing Donald, reached the 15th the American’s day went from bad to worse, with four consecutive double-bogeys to finish his round. Those following the golf betting odds will have been shocked about the way in which he fell apart.

That dramatic fall from grace saw Furyk’s place in the leader-board follow suite, from second down to 15th and continuing the theme of the veteran’s season which has been dogged by inconsistency. Furyk was at a loss to explain his shocking round when speaking afterwards, but the American did raise concerns over the state of the golf course.

He said: “I just kind of got on a bad roll and it snowballed on me today. But the course is very, very, very severe and almost sketchy severe. As severe as I’ve seen it. My eyebrow’s up a little bit on it.”

For a player like Furyk, who’s game is based on the ability to maintain a consistent level throughout the season, this continued poor run will be cause for concern for the experienced 40-year old. If anyone can turn it around though, it will certainly be the battling Furyk.