Furyk kicks off favorite stretch on TOUR with 15th victory

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Jim Furyk (right) is fitted for the plaid jacket while his wife, Tabitha, and two children look on.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Please feel safe to add Jim Furyk's name to the list of those ready to fill the vacuum left by the absence of Tiger Woods on the PGA TOUR.

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Furyk won for the second time this season and the second time in four events on Sunday when he defeated Brian Davis in a playoff at the Verizon Heritage. Now you can put the TOUR's biggest Pittsburgh Steelers fan in a small group that includes two-time 2010 winner Ernie Els and Masters champion Phil Mickelson, among others, who are closing the gap on the somewhat inactive No. 1-ranked player in the world.

Also, please disregard any concern that may have existed about Furyk's game following his performance at the Masters. Those two rounds -- an 80 and a 76 -- are as out of place as an Obama bumper sticker at a Tea Party Rally. Fans at Harbour Town got a look at the real Furyk, who played smart and never seemed to miss a meaningful putt en route to finally winning an event that he'd been runner-up on two previous occasions. He gets a sports coat -- not the green one he covets most, but a plaid one that will no doubt hold a place of honor in his closet.

"I'm excited," Furyk said. "I think I'll be a little cautious. I'm right in the start of my favorite part of the schedule. I'm playing as well as I have for years. So the caution is you still have to be patient. Otherwise you get in a situation where you force a few shots, like I did last week, and you end up missing the cut."

The win, the 15th PGA TOUR title of his career, enabled Furyk to leap all the way to No. 2 on the FedExCup standings, where he trails only Els. With the Quail Hollow Championship (which he won in 2006) only two weeks away, Furyk seems to be setting himself up for a nice potential run of success in tournaments where consistency and a steady hand is prized over a birdie-fest. Add THE PLAYERS to the mix, where Furyk hasn't finished worse than 25th this decade, and the U.S. Open, which he's won once and come close twice, and you can begin to sense how this could end up being a productive stretch for the guy with a loopy swing.

"I think my confidence level is obviously very high," Furyk said. "And we're starting to get to the part of the season where I start smiling ear to ear, because I like all the tournaments coming up. And it's starting to get warmer and hotter and I've always played well through the summer. It's kind of my time."

Furyk's finish at Harbour Town was a classic Furyk performance. Paired with Brian Davis, Furyk bobbed and weaved all afternoon and took a one-shot lead to the 18th tee, only to watch Davis knock in a birdie putt to force a playoff. On the first extra hole, Davis sent his aggressive approach shot to the left of the green and into a position where it would have been almost impossible to win. That became a moot point when Davis brushed his club against a reed and incurred a penalty shot.

"I knew Jim wasn't going to go away," Davis said. "You don't get to be one of the best players in the world by folding on Sunday. I knew he was going to be there."

That famous consistency forced Davis to reach for a shot because he realized his opponent wasn't likely to fall on his own sword. Furyk didn't hit a great approach, but easily made a par; he putted out after Davis shook his hand to concede, concluding what Furyk said was the second-most unusual win of his career. (He won the 1997 Argentine Open when his fellow competitors signed the wrong scorecards that would have forced a playoff.)

"I had a good time out there," Furyk said. "Brian and I had a great back-and-forth. I enjoyed the duel, which is fun. I haven't done that in a while because I've put a lot of pressure on myself."

And now things could get a lot more enjoyable for Furyk. After taking a week off, he'll be ready for a series of events that he looks forward to playing. Success there, combined with his win at Harbour Town, will mean a climb from his current standing as the No. 6-ranked player in the world. Not that he really cares.

"I've never doubted my ability or my talent," he said. "Where I'm ranked in the world, I've always said is not all that important to me. Whether it's second, like it was for a year and a half back in 2006, or whether it's 10th or 12th or 14th, it really doesn't matter.

"As long as I get up on the first tee on Sunday and the guy I'm playing with knows that he's going to have a tough day because he's playing with me, I'm happy. When I get to the first tee and guys aren't worried about playing me anymore, then it's time to retire."

And that's not likely to happen for some time.

Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.