DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) -- Jim Furyk proved to be a
worthy successor to Tiger Woods' three-year reign
in the Memorial Tournament.
On a day of dramatic shots that began after Woods
was gone, Furyk chipped in for birdie and holed a
bunker shot for eagle during a back-nine charge that
carried him to a 7-under 65 and a two-stroke victory
Sunday.
It was the lowest final round by a winner in the 27-year history of the
Memorial, and it capped an exciting afternoon at Muirfield Village in
which 12 players were separated by two shots, all of them on the back
nine.
Furyk removed the suspense in a matter of minutes.
From the right bunker at No. 15 with not much green between the sand and
the flag, his bunker shot rattled the pin and fell for eagle. Then, he hit his
tee shot on the par-3 16th to 10 feet for another birdie.
``I started looking up at the leaderboard and realized it was a close race,''
Furyk said. ``I got from one down to three up. It was pretty exciting.''
Furyk finished at 14-under 274 and earned $846,000 for his seventh
career victory.
John Cook, who lived at Muirfield Village while playing at Ohio State, had
a 69 and finished two strokes back, along with David Peoples (68).
Cook had a 15-foot birdie putt that hung on the lip at No. 18, and it might
prove costly. By finishing in second place alone, it likely would have been
enough for him to earn an exemption to the U.S. Open with a spot in the
top 50 in the world ranking.
Now, Cook will have to wait until the ranking is published Monday to see
whether he gets a free pass to Bethpage, or whether he will have to play a
36-hole qualifier.
David Duval, one of seven players who had at least a share of the lead at
one point, went through a rally-killing stretch of three holes, but still
closed with a 66 and tied for fourth, his first top-10 finish of the year.
Furyk gave the Memorial its first champion other than Woods since 1998.
Woods was trying to become the first player in 75 years to win the same
tournament four straight years, but never had a chance. He started the
final round 12 shots back, and a ho-hum 66 only gave him a tie for 22nd.
Still, it was the 60th consecutive stroke-play event on the PGA Tour in
which Woods has finished in the top 30, dating to a tie for 56th in the 1999
Bay Hill Invitational.
``All I needed was to get a couple of putts to go in, and I wasn't able to do
that all week until today,'' Woods said.
At least Woods met one challenge Sunday.
Jack Nicklaus needled him on the putting green Sunday morning,
wondering whether the No. 1 player in the world could beat a 62-year-old
man.
Nicklaus, playing in the group behind Woods, had three double bogeys in a
round of 79, although his 295 was still two strokes better than Sergio
Garcia.
``I just didn't have any zip,'' the tournament host said.
No one can say that about the rest of the
contenders. Even with Woods long gone,
Muirfield Village was buzzing throughout a mild,
sunny afternoon. Thousands of fans streamed
across the course, not sure where to go or whom
to follow.
Bob Tway, the 54-hole leader by one stroke,
bogeyed the first two holes and never recovered. Stewart Cink also
dropped two shots early and was never a factor.
Vijay Singh took control early with three birdies on his first five holes, but
the real charge came from Duval, who joked earlier in the week that
because Woods always wins the Memorial, he would gladly take second.
Duval hit a 3-wood to tap-in range for eagle on No. 5, and when his 20-foot
birdie putt dropped in the center of the cup for birdie on No. 12, he was 7
under for his round and suddenly leading the tournament.
But a three-putt bogey, a poor tee shot with an iron and his failure to get
up-and-down for birdie at the par-5 15th ended his chances.
He arrived in the CBS tower just in time to watch Furyk hole his bunker
shot.
``You want me to leave?'' he asked with a smile.
Peoples, who hasn't won on tour in 10 years, tied for the lead with a birdie
at No. 12, but gave back the stroke two holes later and couldn't make
enough putts coming in.
Harrison Frazar recovered from his third-round 75 to take a share of the
lead with birdies on four of the first five holes on the back. He had a
chance to take the lead by himself at No. 15, but missed an 18-inch putt.
Furyk removed all doubt.
He saved himself early with two par saves, one after hitting a 4-wood into
the water on the par-5 fifth hole. The turning point came on No. 12, when
his downhill, break chip banged into the pin and dropped for birdie.
``Both those balls weren't exactly dying into the hole,'' Furyk said of the
chip at No. 12 and the bunker shot on No. 15. ``They hit the pin pretty
hard. But you need some breaks to win golf tournaments.''
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