Buried within the round of the day at TPC Sawgrass is an ultimate What Could Have Been. Jim Furyk’s birdie try on the 17th hole clanged off the flagstick. Had it dropped into the hole, he’d have owned a share of the course record.
Furyk had 42 feet left between his ball and the hole for his second shot on 17. The putt was uphill the entire way, so he rammed his putter into it. That extra pace pushed the ball crashing into the center of the flagstick, which might normally be perfect. Furyk’s ball, however, collided square against the stick and jumped back outside the edge of the cup. You can check it out for yourself below.
Lucky or unlucky? ?? pic.twitter.com/uKChSlP4Kj
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 15, 2019
So, did Furyk get robbed but his pin-in strategy? He wasn’t giving it any extra thought.
“I’m probably being generous in saying that ball was going a good eight feet by, maybe more,” Furyk said after the round. It wasn’t like water bound or anything, but it was humming. And so I think I was laughing just because of — I thought it was a good break…Unless it might have hit just the right blade of grass and the exact center of the back of that Cup and popped up in the air and fell in, I don’t think it had a chance to go in.”
We can probably leave the debate at that. Furyk has happily accepted his 64, which pushed him into second place behind Tommy Fleetwood at the time he finished his round. The course record of 63 remains shared by eight others, most recently Brooks Koepka last year.
