Furyk vows to keep the pedal down

Tour Championship and FedEx Cup winner Jim Furyk will not let his massive €8

Tour Championship and FedEx Cup winner Jim Furyk will not let his massive €8.5 million pay-day distract from his focus for the Ryder Cup as the build-up to this weekend's event in Wales hots up.

“That's not going to be an issue,” Furyk told reporters after winning the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta on Sunday.

“Tonight, when I get on the plane, we’ll click the switch. We’ll be Ryder Cup bound and if you can't get up for the Ryder Cup, there’s something wrong.

“I'm hoping to keep this roll going and keep the pedal down next week. If I don’t, it won’t be from a mental perspective, I promise you that.”

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The 40-year-old clinched the Tour Championship's €1 million prize after hitting an exquisite bunker shot at the final hole to salvage par for a one-stroke victory over England’s Luke Donald.

The win also secured the FedEx Cup and a €7.5 million bonus for finishing on top after the four-event playoff series.

“Coming up 18, I assumed I was playing for the FedEx Cup but I wasn’t 100 per cent sure,” the 40-year-old said.

“It wasn't an overly hard (bunker) shot but to be able to knock it up there to a couple of feet for the win was special.

“I wasn’t playing all that good down the stretch really (bogeying 16 and 17). When you have a three-shot lead with three holes to go, you don’t want to give that up.

“Although it didn’t look pretty, I was able to get the job done and win again. It’s probably my second biggest win (behind the 2003 United States Open).”

Furyk is just the third player to win the FedEx Cup since the points competition was unveiled in 2007, joining Tiger Woods (twice) and Vijay Singh.

“It’s only four years old, but 40 years from now there should be a lot of history in this trophy and to have Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk, I’m very proud of that, because those are two of the most dominant players of my era,” Furyk said.

Donald, meanwhile, gave himself a timely jolt of confidence ahead of the Ryder Cup by finishing second, holing out from 100 feet to birdie the par-4 17th on the way to a level-par 70 at a rain-sodden East Lake.

“This performance will just give me a little bit of added confidence going into next week,” said Donald after posting a seven-under total of 273.

“Hopefully my good play can turn into some points for the European side.”

One of three wildcard picks by captain Colin Montgomerie, Donald was the only member of the European team competing in a field of 30 in Atlanta.

“I didn’t think I had anything to prove to Monty,” the world number nine said. “I felt like I was deserving of a pick."

Don’t miss the Irish Times on Tuesday for our 32-page Ryder Cup preview booklet. Philip Reid and George Kimball discuss the possible pairings, with Johnny Watterson taking a look at the wags. Martyn Turner gives you his illustrated guide, while Mary Hannigan has her unique take on the world’s biggest golf event.