Tag: Jim Furyk

Could Phil Mickelson-Jim Furyk become a Champions rivalry? The stats say so.

The two have come out of the gates with birdies blazing since starting on the PGA Tour Champions.

It took 21 years for a second PGA Tour Champions player to win his first two starts since Bruce Fleisher accomplished it for the first time in 1999. That was Jim Furyk last month when he won the Pure Insurance Open at Pebble Beach, after winning the Ally Challenge in Grand Blanc, Michigan, on Aug. 1.

Phil Mickelson became the third less than a month later.

Furyk and Mickelson have dominated the PGA Tour Champions since both became eligible by turning 50 in June. Mickelson made it 2-for-2 in his starts by winning last week’s Dominion Energy Classic at the Country Club of Virginia. He took the lead from fellow left-hander Mike Weir on the back nine, and built on it with two-putt birdies at a short par-4 (he drove the green) and a par-5 on back-to-back holes.

Furyk tied for 13th, two weeks after he tied for ninth at the SAS Championship, ending his bid for three victories in a row. However, he’s ninth on the money list, less than $25,000 behind Mickelson.

While Furyk said he still plans to play occasionally on the PGA Tour, the former FedEx Cup Champion said the Champions Tour is calling his name a little louder these days.

“I think this is going to be my home and just excited to play some golf,” Furyk said. “It was fun to compete, get in contention for two weeks. I’d definitely like to get that feeling again.”

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The two have come out of the gates with birdies blazing. Mickelson, who is in the PGA Tour field this week at the Zozo Championship, has a scoring average of 65.0, is a cumulative 39-under par and has yet to post a score in the 70s on the Champions Tour. He is averaging 7.5 birdies per round.

“It’s fun for me to come out here and play well and this is a good start for me as I try to build a little bit of momentum heading to Augusta in about a month,” Mickelson said after his second victory. “I put a new driver into play this week, trying to get a little more pop, a little more carry. It was a little wayward at times, but it was also effective in allowing me to play this course the way I wanted to, which was aggressively.

“So there were some good things that came of it, and I also identified some areas I’ve got to work on. All in all, it was a really fun, successful week.”

Stat lines are different, but both successful

Furyk is averaging 68.5, with eight of 12 rounds in the 60s and is 42-under par.

But both are using different ways to win, as they have throughout their careers. Mickelson is averaging 311 yards per measured drive, and has hit 79 percent of his greens. Furyk is averaging 282 yards per drive, but hitting 78 percent of his fairways and 81 percent of his greens.

Mickelson also continued a recent trend of marquee winners on the Champions Tour. After players such as Doug Barron, Shane Bertsch, Brandt Jobe and Wes Short Jr., won in the late summer following Furyk’s first victory, the last five winners have been Mickelson, Ernie Els, Steve Stricker, Furyk and Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Rivals since college

Mickelson played at Arizona State from 1988-91, while Furyk played 110 miles to the south at the University of Arizona from 1989-92. Mickelson won 16 college tournaments and while Furyk didn’t win any, he was a key member of the Wildcats’ 1992 national championship. Meanwhile, Mickelson won three individual NCAA championships.

In 1990, both golfers were in the field for the PGA Tour’s Northern Telecom Tucson Open, Mickelson on a sponsor exemption, Furyk as a Monday qualifier.

Big money

Mickelson and Furyk’s PGA Tour success is obvious when you look at the all-time money list: Mickelson is second and Furyk is third, behind only Tiger Woods.

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Jim Furyk looks to make history, win first three starts on Champions tour

Jim Furyk has won his first two starts on the Champions Tour. This week at the SAS Championship, he’s going for three.

Last season on the PGA Tour, Jim Furyk earned $224,450 in 13 events. In two events on the Champions tour, he’s won $630,000.

The 50-year-old Furyk is having a rookie season to remember on the senior circuit.

The 17-time winner on the PGA Tour won his Champions debut in August at the Ally Challenge in Grand Blanc, Michigan, followed by another win in September in his second start at the PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach.

While he still plans to play occasionally on the PGA Tour, the former FedEx Cup Champion said the Champions Tour is calling his name a little louder these days.

“I think this is going to be my home and just excited to play some golf,” Furyk said Thursday. “It was fun to compete, get in contention for two weeks. I’d definitely like to get that feeling again.”

Furyk still plans to occasionally compete in Tour events. He last competed on Tour at the 2020 Safeway Open last month and finished T-46. Last season on Tour, he competed in 13 Tour events, earning two top-25 finishes and making six cuts. His last top-10 was his second-place finish at the 2019 Players Championship.

SAS CHAMPIONSHIP: Tee times | Leaderboard

This week during the SAS Championship at Prestonwood Country Club, the 2010 PGA Tour Player of the Year will attempt to win his first three starts — something no one’s ever done on the Champions.

“It’s real easy to get kind of caught up and think about trying to win, but I didn’t get to this position doing that,” Furyk said. “I got in this position really just worrying about my game and going out there and playing the best I could and playing a good Friday round, setting it up, playing a good Saturday round, getting myself in contention, and then kind of going through that same routine on Sunday. You know, I was fortunate to end up on top.”

If Furyk wins three in a row after this week’s event, it would the first time in a decade a golfer won three straight events on the Champions. Fred Couples won three consecutive starts in 2010 during his rookie season.

While Furyk answered the three-in-a-row question stone-faced like the veteran he is, there’s still some excitement to starting this new chapter of his career.

“When you get on a good roll like that, when you’re playing well and you’ve got some momentum, it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “Now the goal’s to try to keep that going. … I didn’t know six months ago when I turned 50 whether I was going to commit to playing the PGA Tour or the Champions Tour and, you know, coming out here and having some success but seeing some friends, seeing golf courses that are 7,000 yards, I kind of like the atmosphere, I’ve been enjoying it.”

Jim Furyk after winning the 2020 Ally Challenge at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan. (Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

Furyk isn’t the only PGA Tour alum to dip his toe into his senior pool of late. Phil Mickelson won his Champions debut in August by four shots at the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National. This week, Mickelson committed to his second Champions event Oct. 16-18 at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic. Furyk will also compete at The Country Club of Virginia’s James River Course.

While Furyk looked forward to joining Mickelson next week, the 2003 U.S. Open champion is first focused on this week’s event in Cary, North Carolina.

Among his 80 competitors, Furyk will face reigning champion Jerry Kelly. The two even played a practice round on Tuesday which helped the Champions rookie get a lay of the land.

“Prestonwood’s a pretty straightforward golf course,” he said. “It’s well-bunkered off the tee. Using the yardage book I got a feel real easy of where I was supposed to put the ball, and playing with (Kelly) helped out definitely to kind of just get around the golf course and see it a little bit.”

Furyk, Ernie Els and David Toms tee off their first rounds Friday at 11:40 a.m. from the first tee.

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Jim Furyk wins second PGA Tour Champions title at Pure Insurance Championship

Jim Furyk claimed his second PGA Tour Champions title, winning the Pure Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach.

Jim Furyk is racking up the PGA Tour Champions wins.

The 50-year-old made his debut on the over-50 tour back in August, winning the  Ally Challenge. On Sunday he earned his second win in as many starts, claiming the title at the Pure Insurance Championship at 12 under after a one-hole playoff against Jerry Kelly at Pebble Beach.

Furyk, a 17-time winner on the PGA Tour including the 2003 U.S. Open, won the tournament with a birdie on the first playoff hole, the par-5 18th. Kelly made par. Ernie Els finished third at 11 under, followed by Mike Weir and Retief Goosen T-4 at 9 under.

Pure Insurance Championship: Leaderboard

PGA Tour Champions: Furyk leads tight race heading into Saturday’s second round

Champions Tour: Jim Furyk holds a one-shot lead after the first round of the Pure Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach.

Jim Furyk finished strong in the opening round of the Pure Insurance Championship on Friday, birdieing three of his last four holes for an 8-under 64. For now, he holds a one-shot lead on Cameron Beckman, Ernie Els and Stephen Leaney, who are all T-2.

At 50 years old, Furyk is playing in just his second PGA Tour Champions event. The West Chester, Pennsylvania, native emerged victorious at the Ally Challenge on Aug. 2, becoming the first man in over five years to win his Champions Tour debut. Phil Mickelson followed soon after by copying the feat.

“Yeah, obviously real happy,” Furyk said about his opening-round effort at Pebble Beach, a course he has played more than 20 events at. “I got off to a good start on the back nine and kind of got things moving with some shots close to the pin. It’s just good to get off to a fast start.”

Furyk stumbled in the early going with a three-putt bogey at the third hole, but recovered with a birdie at No. 4 (one of nine he made on the day). He would end up needing every single one to stay clear of the hard-charging trio behind him.

Minnesota’s Beckman stayed bogey-free and carded seven birdies for an opening-round 65, as did Australia’s Leaney. Els, the South African, had just two birdies in the front nine but put himself in the conversation with a hole-in-one at No. 12.

“Yeah, it was a strange day,” remarked Leaney. “When I finished, I actually thought I’d shot 66. I had to look at the scorecard five times to convince myself that I actually shot 7 under, so it was a bit of a weird day. I didn’t drive it particularly well, but I missed it in spots that you need to miss it on and I birdied the holes I felt like I had to.”

Added Els: “Normally, you make a hole-in-one every three years. I’ve made one every two, three weeks, so it’s ridiculous. I should go to the casino because maybe there’s a bit of luck involved, I’m not sure.”

Champions Tour fans will be in for plenty of great second-round action. Dicky Pride and Doug Barron finished just two shots back of Furyk on Friday and look to join the trio of Beckman, Els and Leaney in the hunt. Defending champ Kirk Triplett wasn’t so lucky, as he finds himself T-64 after shooting 3-over in the first round.

Furyk’s career includes 17 PGA Tour victories, including a U.S. Open title in 2003. But, a victory this weekend would make him the third golfer in history to win his first two PGA Tour Champions events. Arnold Palmer did it first in 1980, followed by Bruce Fleisher in 1999.

“It will be good to get out there with some softer greens in the morning and hopefully some good weather,” Furyk said before the second round. “Really thankful to get off to a good start, but still have a great golf course in front of me and two more days, so I just want to keep trying to do the same thing and keep making some birdies.”

Furyk will tee off at 11:16 a.m. ET on Saturday alongside Billy Andrade, last year’s runner-up at the Pure Insurance Championship. Andrade managed a first-round 3-under and currently sits T-14. Golf Channel’s coverage will run from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

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Struggling Sergio Garcia comes to Safeway Open in search of ‘good mojo’

Sergio Garcia hasn’t won since the 2017 Masters and missed the FedEx Cup Playoffs. But this is a new week and a new season for the Spaniard.

NAPA, Calif. – Sergio Garcia took his wife, Angela, to Theorem Vineyards in nearby Calistoga on Tuesday and planned to hit up a couple more wineries ahead of the opening round of the Safeway Open on Thursday. It’s what you do here, but make no mistake about it: this is a business trip for the 40-year-old Spaniard who missed the FedEx Cup Playoffs for just the second time in his career.

Sure, Garcia was motivated to make his first appearance at Silverado Resort and Spa, the kickoff event of the PGA Tour’s 2020-21 season, but he also was anxious to continue the quest to rediscover his game, which has been missing in action practically since the crowning moment of his career, when he won the Masters in 2017. It’s hard to fathom but Garcia has recorded just one top-10 finish in his last 18 Tour starts and is winless on Tour since donning the Green Jacket.

He’s here, in part, because his season ended prematurely after the Wyndham Championship, leaving Garcia three weeks to spend with daughter, Azalea, and son, Enzo, play some tennis and decompress. But now he’s recommitted to bringing his best to a season unlike any other, with six majors, a Ryder Cup, and 50 Tour events in all. He would like to jump-start his season this week.

“It definitely would be nice to get some good mojo,” he said during his pre-tournament press conference. “I feel like my game, it feels pretty good. It’s just a matter of kind of getting things going in the right direction, getting the ball rolling nicely and kind of riding that good wave.”

Garcia, who has tumbled to No. 44 in the Official World Golf Ranking as well as the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, is way too talented to struggle for too long. To what does he blame his on-course funk?

“Well, it’s quite simple,” he said. “The last couple of years some of my decisions when it comes down to equipment and stuff like that didn’t help me. Obviously took some of my confidence away. This year has been trying to find myself back a little bit, trying to find my feelings, my good feelings that I had in the past. I feel like I’m starting to get there, I feel like I’ve been playing much better, I feel like I’ve been hitting the ball much better. I just need to tweak a couple little things here and there and just get some good confidence going, some good things happening and then I feel like I can start doing some beautiful things again, which I’ve done pretty much my whole career.”

Nicholas Gross, participant in the boys 10-11, shakes hands with Sergio Garcia in 2018. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Garcia has experienced the occasional lapse in performance before and emerged the better player for it. As for his very un-Garcia-like performance of late, 50-year-old Tour sage Jim Furyk, one of the Tour’s steadiest players of the last two decades, called it “surprising,” but said it happens to even the best of them.

“I think that everyone goes through periods — even think about like Jack Nicklaus, pretty much the greatest player of all time, went through some periods of his career where he struggled. When I say periods, I’m not talking like a month or two. He had a year where he struggled and maybe, you know, put his nose to the grindstone, went back to visit his teacher, started throwing some extra effort in. Eventually, when you do that, you keep working at it and you keep grinding, things come around,” Furyk said. “Sometimes the truth hurts. You want to overlook maybe the weaknesses, what’s ailing you, but really going to work on getting back to basics, going to work on the parts of your game that are struggling. Sometimes just being real honest with yourself, why am I not playing as well? I know everyone goes through that and I know that he’ll come out of it.”

A good week at the Safeway Open could be just what Garcia needs to turn the corner and be ready for next week’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot, and so he is here for more than just the red wine and some world-class meals with his wife. Garcia still has his eye on the biggest prizes in golf.

“I didn’t want to go into the U.S. Open without playing for four weeks,” he said. “So, at least get a little bit of competition energy going, competition like fluids coming into your body, you know … hopefully some good feelings, playing well and get some good confidence going into Winged Foot.”

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Jim Furyk is at peace with joining PGA Tour Champions — almost — but still thinks he can compete at Napa

Jim Furyk is in the field at the PGA Tour’s season-opening Safeway Open at Silverado Resort & Spa.

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NAPA, Calif. – Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson each celebrated their 50th birthday not long ago and wasted little time in becoming the 19th and 20th players to win in his PGA Tour Champions debut, respectively. But that doesn’t mean either of them is finished playing on the junior circuit just yet. Both are in the field this week at the PGA Tour’s season-opening Safeway Open at Silverado Resort & Spa, and whatever you do, don’t ask either of them if they’ve come to peace with making the inevitable transition to the senior circuit.

“Who said I came to peace with it?” Furyk said with an edge to his voice before breaking into a smile. “If you’d have asked me six months ago, I wasn’t sure. If you would have asked me literally five weeks ago, I wasn’t quite sure. I think I came to peace on it during a little reflection off of the season a little bit, where I’m at, where golf is at really in general, how we’re setting up golf courses on the PGA Tour, where equipment is at.”

Furyk is here this week because he recorded his best finish of an otherwise forgettable 2019-20 season at this tournament, finishing T-17, but he’s scheduled to play the next five Champions Tour events that follow.

“Scott McCarron probably put it best,” Furyk said. “He said the best thing I can tell you about the Champions Tour is it’s not that you can’t compete on the PGA Tour anymore, but how many times in a good year are you going to get in contention to win?’ He said, ‘You’re going to get in contention to win more often on the Champions Tour and you’ll still get just as nervous trying to win there as you do on the PGA Tour.”

Safeway Open: Odds and best bets

For Furyk, this much is clear: he doesn’t intend to split time between the two tours. His plan is to focus primarily on the Champions Tour – 80 to 90 percent, he said – and cherry-pick a few starts at some of his favorite stomping grounds such as the Valspar Championship, RBC Heritage and Travelers Championship, places where length isn’t the key ingredient to success. Perhaps the strongest measure of his commitment to PGA Tour Champions is forming his own event, the Constellation Furyk and Friends, which will be played in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, October 4-10, 2021.

Furyk formed his foundation in 2010, and hosted his first Furyk & Friends a year later, raising about $500,000 per year the last few years, he said, during a two-day event in advance of the Players Championship.

“It was about golf and food and drinks and fun, and not always in that order. Golf was usually fourth on the list,” he said. “But realizing that eventually I’m going to transition and start playing the Champions Tour and it’s inevitable that I’m going to lose touch with the PGA Tour – it just happens – we were thinking how do we evolve?

“I started seeing, you know, Steve Stricker has the Am Fam (American Family Insurance Championship) and my good buddy Davis Love has the RSM in Sea Island, and I had a couple meetings with (PGA Tour Champions President) Miller Brady and dinner with Jay (Monahan) one night a couple of years ago and we started talking about the possibility of running a Champions Tour event. And I asked, ‘Is that possible with our foundation?’ ”

It turned out it was a good fit in the tour’s fall schedule. So, how did they settle on the course? Allow Furyk to tell the story: “Miller said, ‘Where are you thinking about having it, what course?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’ve got one in mind,’ and he goes, ‘I do, too.’ And I said, ‘All right, you go first,’ and he said, ‘Timuquana.’ And I go, ‘Great, we’re on the same page. That’s the place I would like to do it.’ ”

Furyk said the response from his fellow pros has been overwhelmingly positive and he’s working on his sales pitch to attract Mickelson and his other pals to join the field. In the meantime, Furyk’s success at the Ally Challenge has stoked his interest in making the transition to the Champions Tour.

Jim Furyk
Jim Furyk plays his shot from the first tee during the final round of the Ally Challenge presented by McLaren at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club on August 2, 2020 in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images

“It felt like the first day of school all over again,” said Furyk, who enjoyed catching up with the likes of Steve Pate and Jeff Sluman in Flint, Michigan, as well as playing on a shorter course. “My first day in Flint it had rained the night before and a couple of guys said, ‘Man, the course is playing long this year, isn’t it?’ I turned to Fluff and said, ‘What’s the longest club I hit in out here?’ Fluff said, ‘7-iron.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I can handle this.’ Medinah (site of last year’s BMW Championship) played at 7,650 last year. I’ll take my chances.

“My 4-iron is sore from the last few years and my 9-iron and wedge, they miss me. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been well-longer than average?” Furyk said. “That was kind of fun.”

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Specifics laid out for 2021 Constellation Furyk and Friends PGA Tour Champions event

Jim Furyk and wife, Tabitha, are putting on the Furyk and Friends PGA Tour Champions event in 2021.

The Timuquana Country Club, the PGA Tour Champions and the Furyk family are throwing a party.

Everyone’s invited.

More than a year out from the first PGA Tour Champions event on the First Coast since 2002, Jim and Tabitha Furyk met with the media on Monday to lay out some of the plans for the Constellation Energy Furyk and Friends tournament on Oct. 4-10, 2021, at Timuquana.

The tournament, which evolved from the Furyk and Friends charity tournament at the Sawgrass Country Club from 2011-2020, will benefit charities that help children, families and the military on the First Coast.

Constellation, a Baltimore-based energy company, has pledged $500,000 per year to the foundation beginning in 2021, and already made an initial donation of $100,000 this year. Over the duration of the first contract, at least $2.6 million will go to charity.

The purse will be $2 million and the event carried by Golf Channel. It will be the first nationwide TV exposure for Timuquana, the Donald Ross-designed course that was built in 1923.

The par-4 ninth hole of the Timuquana Country Club will be No. 18 for the Constellation Furyk and Friends PGA Tour Champions event Oct. 4-10, 2021. Photo by Gary Smits/Florida Times-Union

Furyk has a sponsor relationship with Constellation’s parent company, Exelon, that goes back two decades. Constellation also was the title sponsor for the Senior Players Championship from 2007-2018.

“Tabitha and I like to have a good time and we have a lot of friends who like that as well … golf, food, drink and fun, though not in that order,” Furyk said. “Golf is probably fourth.”

But the main priority will be charity. In the past, the Jim and Tabitha Furyk Foundation has raised money for charities such as Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Blessings in a Backpack, Operation Shower (a baby shower for military mothers), Community PedsCare and the Monique Burr Foundation.

“Our relationship with Jim and the PGA Tour has just gotten better and better over time,” said Mark Huston, president of Constellation Retail. “Jim is a standup person, a good family man who gives back to the community and is recognized as a leader among PGA Tour players. It’s great to be associated with a family and a sport that has such a positive reputation.”

Plans were released for three hospitality venues at Timuquana, the 18th hole Skybox, Cabanas on 17 and Club 58 (which commemorates Furyk’s record PGA Tour score for one round), also near the 17th green.

The sides will be flipped for the tournament, with No. 17 the short par-3 and No. 18 the par-4 adjacent to the cart area and tennis courts. Furyk said the Constellation hospitality venue will be on the back left of the green, a presenting sponsor venue on the right to right-rear of the green and the right side will have spectator viewing.

Furyk said plans will be fluid, based on whether the COVID-19 pandemic has eased within the 13 months before the tournament.

“We know there are no guarantees,” he said. “We hope by next October we can have fans but we want to do it in the safest manner possible. Our job is to make sure we have options.”

Furyk noted that the PGA Tour Champions has had pro-ams since returning in late July (Furyk won the first event back, at Warwick Hills in Grand Blanc, Michigan, his first PGA Tour Champions start) and next week, at the Tour’s stop in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, fans will be allowed on the course.

Jim Furyk after winning the Ally Challenge at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club on August 2, 2020 in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images

“The Tour has done a good job of getting us back to tournament golf, but also changing and reacting to the climate,” Furyk said. “A lot depends on area governments and where are the hot spots.”

But the organization is planning for the best.

“Our mission and goal is to have a great event, draw in the fans and showcase our city,” Furyk said. “You look at the view of the St. Johns River and downtown from this course and it’s a great opportunity to bring in a lot of folks to watch this, raise more money and help more people.”

The military will have a strong presence at the tournament, given that Timuquana is adjacent to NAS Jacksonville, the third-largest naval base in the U.S.

Tournament director Adam Renfroe said the 21,000 military and civilian personnel who are at the base on a daily basis will be offered complimentary admission, and a military hospitality venue will be built near one of the closing holes.

“We will have a strong relationship with NAS Jacksonville,” Renfroe said. “There will be a number of military-driven initiatives during tournament week and we anticipate a lot of people coming from the base. Supporting them will be a central part of the week.”

The timing of launching the tournament also couldn’t be better. A new wave of marquee players has become eligible for the Champions Tour and two of them, Furyk and Phil Mickelson, won their first starts last month.

Also becoming eligible within the past two years have been World Golf Hall of Fame members Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, plus K.J. Choi, Darren Clarke, Mike Weir and Rich Beem.

Three-time major champion Padraig Harrington will join the list next year.

“It’s amazing all these guys are jumping right in and playing well,” said Davis Love III. “The competition is tough. If you make five pars in a row you feel like you’re out of it.”

Other possible participants will be Fred Couples, John Daly, Bernhard Langer, Mark O’Meara and Colin Montgomerie.

Renfroe said marketing a tournament with a potential field like that — and with the Furyks’ name on it — won’t be difficult.

“The name recognition of those players goes a long way, and the reputation of Jim and Tabitha in this community goes a long way,” Renfroe said. “The players have had long and successful careers, with a lot of history. There are a lot of legends who will be playing here.”

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Jim Furyk pulls away, wins Champions Tour debut at Ally Challenge

Furyk stood his ground on Sunday, posting a smooth-as-silk 68 to win in Champions debut at Warwick Hills, just outside of Flint, Michigan.

Jim Furyk sure made this Champions Tour stuff look easy.

While others made runs on Sunday during the final round of the Ally Challenge in Grand Blanc, Michigan, Furyk simply stood his ground, posting a smooth-as-silk 68 to win in Champions debut.

He becomes the 19th player to win a Champions event on his first try, following in the footsteps of others like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Lanny Wadkins.

“I didn’t know 19 people won in their first time, it sounds so ordinary,” Furyk said through a smile after the victory. “It feels good, you know, I really missed a lot of good friends out here. I respect the talent out here and you look at how many Hall of Famers and how many good players there are, so it’s an honor to come out win the first one.”

Retief Goosen and Brett Quigley both were in the hunt with Furyk, but each made a critical mistake down the stretch — Goosen bogeyed No. 18, while Quigley lipped out a short putt on No. 17 and bogeyed each of the final two holes.

Ally Challenge scores

For Furyk, this meant another great finish at Warwick Hills, where he made all 15 cuts when the course hosted the PGA Tour’s Buick Open. He captured the Buick title in 2003, finished second twice and placed in the top 25 in all but three of his appearances at the course.

Chris DiMarco, Rod Pampling and Wes Short Jr. all finished tied for third at 10 under while Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman and Jerry Kelly were fourth at 9 under.

In terms of others who have also won their debut, Palmer won in his first attempt, the 1980 Senior PGA Championship, while Nicklaus won in his debut at the 1990 Regions Tradition.

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Jim Furyk one off lead in Champions debut at Ally Challenge; Brett Quigley leads

Furyk, who sits at 10-under par and trails Brett Quigley by one, likened the experience to the first day of school — but with a twist.

Like many before him, Jim Furyk’s indoctrination into the world of the Champions Tour has been welcoming.

Old friends. Old course. And the advantage of going from being one of the oldest bodies on the PGA Tour back to young-pup status.

Playing Warwick Hills outside of Flint, Michigan — the course that housed the PGA Tour’s Buick Open for years, and where he made the cut in all 15 of his starts in that event — Furyk looked right at home, posting a bogey-free 66 that puts him one off the lead heading into Sunday’s final round.

Furyk, who sits at 10-under par after two rounds, likened the experience to the first day of school — but with a twist.

“It’s been fun. It’s been great to be back at a golf course that I always
enjoyed playing when we were here on the PGA Tour and great to see some old friends,” Furyk said. “I told my wife, I always feel like the first round — I probably said it earlier in the week, the first round of the PGA Tour every year is like the first day of school, you get excited, you get a little nervous.

“Coming out here on the Champions Tour, I told her it was like the first
day of high school but I had been homeschooled the last five years. Lots of folks I hadn’t seen in a lot of years and a lot of good friends, and so just good to say hello to everyone.”

Furyk won the Buick Open at Warwick Hills in 2003, finished second twice and placed in the top 25 in all but three of his appearances in Grand Blanc.

Meanwhile, Brett Quigley raced in front of the pack during the second round, posting eight birdies in his first 14 holes during Saturday play, then cruised home to 11 under with a series of pars to take the one-stroke lead into the clubhouse over Furyk, Carlos Franco and Tommy Armour III. Quigley has picked up right where he left off before the break, but he admitted during Saturday’s round that he was too keen to get going on Friday and needed a day to settle in.

“I was trying to shoot 20 under the front nine yesterday. I was just trying to force everything after being off for so long. I was like, oh my gosh, now I’ve got to go bogey the first hole. And I was like, what am I doing out here?” Quigley said. “And really struggled the front nine and brought it together the back nine, and then came out today and played a little bit more like I’m capable of playing.”

The resident of Jupiter, Florida, said he wasn’t sure the Champions Tour would resurface this summer, so any opportunity to play is something of a bonus.

Quigley won his second start, in Morocco on Feb. 1, then added another top-10 finish and was second on the senior circuit’s money list (to Bernhard Langer) with $481,687.

“It’s almost like winning the lottery, because we just weren’t sure we were going to play. Other sports, PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champions, have done such a great job getting us back and getting us back playing and keeping us safe, keeping us tested, and keeping everybody with the appearance of being healthy,” Quigley said. “So it’s great. It was a tough one to sit down, but certainly great to be back and back playing and thankful that we are.”

Other prominent names looming include Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer, Kirk Triplett, Tom Lehman, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, all at 6 under.

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Several big names will miss the cut at RBC Heritage

Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed and Hideki Matsuyama are among the top-ranked players who aren’t making the cut at the RBC Heritage.

What do Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, and Hideki Matsuyama all have in common? Well, in addition to being among the top 30 in the world, they all have the weekend off at the RBC Heritage.

Given that the field is stacked this week in Hilton Head, South Carolina, it goes to figure that some of the star power would exit stage left at the 36-hole cut. It took 4-under 138 to be among the 75 players to make it to the weekend.

Meanwhile, Collin Morikawa rallied with birdies at Nos. 14 and 15 to extend the Tour’s longest active cut streak to 23 events.

Fowler (67-72) missed his second straight cut for the first time since 2016, while Matsuyama (74-70), who tied the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course record the last time he played before the season was suspended, couldn’t pick up the magic where he left off. They weren’t alone.

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World No. 19 Louis Ooshuizen (73-73), reigning British Open champion Shane Lowry (74-67), two-time major winner Zach Johnson (69-74) and former World No. 1 Jason Day (71-69) also were sent packing.

Perennial contenders at the RBC Heritage Kevin Kisner, a South Carolina native who lost a playoff to Jim Furyk in 2015, and Luke Donald, a four-time runner-up of the event, have a rare weekend off. Even golf’s iron man fell victim to a Pete Dye layout that has stood the test of time as FedEx Cup leader Sungjae Im (73-70) failed to earn a Saturday tee time.

Past champions Aaron Baddeley, Jim Furyk, Brian Gay, Graeme McDowell, Brandt Snedeker and five-time champion Davis Love III failed to find the good vibes of past glory this time at the famed seaside links.

A week ago, Xander Schauffele was a vicious lip out away from joining the playoff for the Charles Schwab Championship. On Friday, he birded the ninth, his final hole, to make the cut on the number.

Luke List, who won last week’s Korn Ferry Challenge, shot 69-73, leading to his trunk-slamming departure.

Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree (73-70), one of two amateurs in the field, missed the cut for the second straight week.

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