Tucker’s Town, Bermuda, October 15, 2008 - Jim Furyk finally won his first victory on the US PGA tour on Wednesday when he won the 26th PGA Grand slam of golf after birdeing the final hole to force a play-off with Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, British Open and PGA championship winner.
This is the American golfer’s first victory since the 2007 Canadian Open. Furyk shot his second 2-under 68 to match Harrington’s 4-under-36, and sealed the victory with an 8-foot eagle putt on the first extra hole, Harrington’s birdie on the extra hole proving inadequate to counter Furyk’s putt. This is the second year in a row that Harrington had lost the 36-hole event in a play-off.
The win was a pleasant surprise to Furyk, who was playing in the place of golf favorite Tiger Woods. Woods had opted to skip the tournament citing his desire to spend more time with the family after suffering from knee injuries and recuperating from knee surgery.
“I’m obviously very happy with the outcome, Furyk said after the match. “It’s kind of a wonder that I’m even in the event to start with. So I kind of treated the week like I had nothing to lose.”
