Jim Furyk Takes Cialis (Western Open by Two)

Tiger Woods made a Sunday charge and made up a three-stroke deficit on 54-hole co-leader Jim Furyk at the (cough, ahem, Cialis) Western Open today at Chicago’s beautiful Cog Hill Golf and Country Club. The downside? Woods started the day five strokes back, and Furyk’s two-stroke victory – the tenth of his career and his first in two years – was all but assured when Tiger faltered at 13 and 14 as Furyk poured in three straight birdies to retake a four-stroke lead after Tiger caught him with an eagle at the 11th.

Furyk has finished second three times this year, including last week at the Barclays Classic when Padraig Harrington holed a 65-foot eagle at the last to nip him by a stroke, but hasn’t won since taking the Buick Open in 2003. Woods reached a milestone himself, topping $50,000,000 in career earnings.

Third-round co-leader Ben Curtis fell back in his attempt to win for the first time since his 2003 British Open victory, clattering backwards to a 3-over 74. He maintained his third-place finish, though, giving him only his second top-10 finish since the 2003 Open. Filling out the top five were the resurgent Billy Mayfair (4th, -8) and Pat Perez and Brett Quigley at -7. Both fired 70s today and tied for the best finish of those not already exempt for the British Open, but only Pat Perez will go on, as he shot a 67 on Saturday to Quigley’s 69.

Today’s play at Cog Hill revealed a few things golf fans have known for quite awhile. For many, the past few weeks have removed all doubt that Tiger Woods has come back into form. His play at the U.S. Open – had he averaged only 32 putts/round he’d have won by eight shots – and his play this week indicate that Tiger is striking the ball solidly. Were it not for a three-putt after flying an approach long from the rough and an awkward stance in a bunker – and the necessity of playing a second shot from the same bunker – Tiger may have won the tournament.

Jim Furyk, called “Unorthodox but Effective” in a profile here at The Sand Trap only a few days ago, has finally climbed back on top of victory hill. One of the more impressive statistics quoted during today’s telecast: in 307 PGA Tour events in his 12-year career, Furyk has finished in the top ten nearly 1/3 of the time – 98 times. And, to be fair, though Jim has not won since 2003, he did take half of last year off after undergoing wrist surgery. He, too, is back.

The Sunday telecast gave us much to watch. We saw Tiger Woods find a one-yard wide strip of fairway about five yards shy of the 384-yard par-4 10th green. Vijay Singh, who stumbled to a T13 finish with a 73 after starting one stroke back of Tiger Woods, was putting out when Tiger’s ball rolled up. We saw Tiger Woods leave a ball in a bunker. We saw Tiger Woods get a bounce off of a cart path (three times, no less) and hit a 9-iron into a par five that wasn’t marked “13” at a little golf club in Augusta, GA. We saw Tiger Woods three-putt once again. And we saw Tiger Woods make a huge eagle putt and go 5-under in a span of five holes.

We also saw Jim Furyk withstand a Tiger Woods charge and place in the top two in back-to-back weeks. We saw Ben Curtis make a miraculous bogey after driving into a hazard and hitting his third shot to the par-four eighth about fifty yards over the green and onto the ninth tee. Shaun Micheel, long gone missing since his lone major, finished tied for 7th. Bob Tway, Tim Herron, and Fredrik Jacobsen clung to a top-10. Finally, and I almost typed “Nike Tour guy,” Nationwide Tour player Chris Couch, playing on a special exemption, finished tied for 13th at -4.

Pos   Player            Tot    R1    R2    R3    R4    Tot
1     Jim Furyk         -14    64    70    67    69    270
2     Tiger Woods       -12    73    66    67    66    272
3     Ben Curtis         -9    64    71    66    74    275
4     Billy Mayfair      -8    72    69    67    68    276
T5    Pat Perez          -7    74    66    67    70    277
T5    Brett Quigley      -7    69    69    69    70    277
T7    Charles Warren     -6    71    69    70    68    278
T7    Heath Slocum       -6    72    70    67    69    278
T7    Shaun Micheel      -6    71    67    68    72    278
T10   Fredrik Jacobson   -5    73    68    70    68    279
T10   Bob Tway           -5    74    68    68    69    279
T10   Tim Herron         -5    68    66    70    75    279
T13   Craig Perks        -4    67    71    70    72    280
T13   Chris Couch        -4    66    67    74    73    280
T13   Vijay Singh        -4    72    70    65    73    280