The recipe for success can often be a simple one: keep it out of the rough!
In utilising a game tailor-made for such a philosophy, Jim Furyk – a grinder if ever there was one in this game – took his conventional game-plan of hitting fairways and finding greens-in-regulation to this 95th edition of the US PGA championship here at Oak Hill Country Club in upstate New York.
The result? An opening 65, five-under-par. Furyk and the initial wave of players had finished their first round before a thunderstorm moved into the leafy area outside of Rochester which caused a suspension of play that lasted for just over an hour. It was to serve those later-starters well, as, on returning, they found near-perfect target-golf conditions and receptive, soft greens.
Rory McIlroy, who had started with three birdies in his opening four holes to reacquire that old bounce in his gait, had just suffered back-to-back bogeys on the 10th and 11th to drop back to one-under on his round when the siren blasted to send players scurrying to the safety of strategically positioned vans to ferry them to the safety of the clubhouse. He returned to post a round of 69, one-under. And there was further evidence that Darren Clarke retains his desire, recovering from a bogey-bogey start to also shoot a 69. “I hung in there, I ground it out,” he remarked, having benefited from some time spent with sports psychologist Bob Rotella.
Adam Scott, the US Masters champion, contrived to produce a run of five straight birdies – from the fourth – to turn in 30. He couldn't sustain that magical play, but was alongside Furyk on five-under through 16 holes. Furyk found 15 of 18 greens-in-regulation in an opening round that confirmed his bounce back to form following a missed cut in last month's British Open. In the two tournaments he played in following Muirfield, Furyk finished tied-ninth at both the Canadian Open and the WGC-Bridgestone championship.
Cut poor
"Missing the cut poorly at the US Open (in Merion) and missing the cut poorly in the British Open are probably the thorns in my side," said Furyk of what had spurred him on.
For sure, Furyk – who claimed his only Major title when winning the 2003 US Open – used his distinctive swing to great effect on a course where the scoring, aided by benign conditions with barely any hint of wind and rather receptive greens, was some four shots less than when the PGA was held here in 2003: 75, to 71. Not that everyone managed to beat the course. Tiger Woods, with five titles in his back pocket so far this season but still looking to end a Major drought that dates back to June 2008, signed for a 71, suffering a double bogey on his closing hole. Ernie Els was another who failed to take advantage of the conditions, signing for a 74.
Lee Westwood continued his contention for a maiden Major with an opening 66. "I didn't hit every green, but when I did the short game went well," said the Englishman. And Paul Casey, whose Irish Open success has revitalised his career, getting him into last week's Bridgestone and propelling him towards getting back into the world's top-100 and so earn his ticket here, continued his good vein of form with a 67.
Good form
Sweden's Henrik Stenson also continued his good form with an opening 68. If there has been an Achilles heel in Furyk's game, it has been the putter. Time and time again, when he got into contention at the Majors, most evidently in last year's US Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, Furyk's blade went cold. Was there ever a time he despaired?
Was there a time he feared he would never get his touch back on the greens? "One a scale of one to 10, one being I wasn't worried and 10 (being) I was really worried, I'd give it a zero. How's that?"
Yesterday was one of those days when the putter obliged. Furyk described it as "one of the best putting rounds, if not the best putting round I've had this year.
“I knocked in a bunch of putts.” Furyk’s round could have been better (he bogeyed the last). But he had no complaints, with an opening birdie on the 10th (from six feet) showing his intent. After that, he had what he called “some testy” putts that he sank for par to keep his momentum going, until he secured his second birdie of the round on the 16th where he holed from 40 feet. On the 18th, he hit a four-iron approach to 12 inches.
On the homeward run, Furyk kept that momentum going with a birdie on the first (from 10 feet) and then sank a six-footer on the fourth.
His final birdie came on the seventh, where he hit a hybrid off the tee – “it didn’t quite go as far as I wanted,” he admitted – before hitting a sweetly-struck four iron to 15 feet. His bogey on the 18th came after a drive down the right, from where he was blocked out by a tree.
“I’m wise enough and been there enough (to know) that it is only Thursday. Right now we are jockeying for position, you don’t win the golf tournament on Thursday. I know that, and I am just happy with playing well and putting myself in good position.”
