AKRON, Ohio (AP) – Jim Furyk still sees more birdies than blunders in the 15 years he has been coming to Firestone.
It’s a course he likes. The Bridgestone Invitational is a tournament he wants to win.
It hasn’t been from a lack of effort.
Furyk had a two-shot lead going into the final round in 2001 when Tiger Woods caught him and forced a playoff. Three times in six holes, Furyk stood over a 12-foot putt for the win. Each time he missed. And on the seventh playoff hole, Woods hit his approach to 2 feet for the victory.
What stung even more was three years ago. Furyk had a one-shot lead going into the final round and held off all the challengers. With a one-shot lead playing the 18th hole, he found the fairway off the tee, made one bad swing that put him in an awful spot, and made double bogey to lose by one shot to Keegan Bradley.