Jim Furyk shoots first 58 in PGA Tour history at the Travelers
Jim Furyk made history early on Sunday at the Travelers Championship.
For the second time in his career, Furyk shot a sub-60 round on the PGA Tour, shooting the first ever 58 in PGA Tour history in the final round of the Travelers Championship.
Furyk got off to a hot start on the par-70 TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., going out in 8-under 27, including a hole-out eagle from the fairway on the par-4 third hole from 135 yards. He finished out the front side with four consecutive birdies, extending that streak to seven in a row on the first three holes of the back nine.
The 2003 U.S. Open winner then made three pars in a row, missing out on chances at the par-5 13th, the 14th hole and the drivable par-4 15th. Then, Furyk made a 23-foot birdie at the par-3 16th hole, putting him 12 under on the round.
With a couple of ho-hum pars, Furyk put the finishing touches on his 58.
This 58 follows Furyk’s 59 in the 2013 BMW Championship. Furyk didn’t go on to win that tournament at Conway Farms near Chicago. Zach Johnson hoisted the trophy that week. He won’t win this championship either. Furyk, however, is the first player in PGA Tour history to record multiple official rounds below 60.
The Pennsylvania native said the experience of beating 60 three years ago — the last sub-60 round on the PGA Tour before Sunday — helped him to shoot 58.
“I think I was better prepared this time for it because I had gone through it once before,” he said.
Only he would know.
Furyk’s round follows Stephan Jaeger, who, 10 days ago, became the first player to shoot 58 in an official PGA Tour event on the Web.com Tour at last week’s Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae in California.
However, the round almost didn’t go down as official. Furyk’s playing partner on Sunday, Miguel Angel Carballo, incorrectly marked Furyk’s score on the par-4 14th as a birdie 3, when Furyk just missed his birdie bid. Fortunately, Furyk caught the scoring error before he signed for his 58. Otherwise, he would have been disqualified from the tournament and his round not counted.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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