Furyk has ‘a lot of fun’ as local favorite, second-place finisher at U.S. Open

Perhaps Jim Furyk got a boost from his Western Pennsylvania roots.

Furyk, who spent part of his childhood near Pittsburgh, did some damage in the final round of the U.S. Open Sunday at Oakmont Country Club. While he was 3 over through three rounds, he turned in a nasty outing on the driest, fastest day of the tournament.

His 4-under 66 was the best round of the day and gave him the clubhouse lead for a short period while other players concluded their rounds. Furyk, the 2003 U.S. Open winner, ultimately finished the day tied for second with Shane Lowry and Scott Piercy.

“I played my heart out today,” he said.

Sunday’s finish had echoes of the 2007 national championship at Oakmont, when Furyk came close to winning his second U.S. Open. While he collected silver medals at both tournaments, this time at Oakmont was certainly less heartbreaking.

In 2007, he and Tiger Woods ended their days one stroke back from winner Angel Cabrera. After a trio of birdies on the back nine, Furyk attacked the short par 4 No. 17 with a driver, overshooting the green and ultimately making bogey. He defended that club choice in a recent interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, instead attributing his second-place finish to overly aggressive play on Nos. 2 and 12.

“This would be a much better feeling to finish second or third coming back off a 66,” he said after his final round Sunday. “I mean, to be right in the thick of things and bogey 17 last time, that’s kind of like that you can taste it, but that’s a little bit of a bitter pill to swallow. It would have a much happier feel, put it that way.”

In his final round Sunday, he fronted the 17th green with his first shot and ultimately sank a 26-foot putt for birdie.

“The birdie at 17 was exciting,” he said, “a little retribution for the last time through.”

Given his recent poor luck, one can see why he was pleased to shoot 1 under in four rounds at Oakmont. Furyk, 46, has not played much in 2016 after a left-wrist injury at the BMW Championship last year. The injury forced him to have surgery in February and take off several months.

He also played the final four holes of his third round Sunday, and said a birdie on No. 18 gave him momentum going into the fourth round.

“I think it was really a big boost this morning to come out and play holes 15 through 18 so well,” he said. “Played them 1 under, knocked it in on 18 and made birdie. It was a good boost to go home sitting on the birdie in a good mood, thinking about, hey, you never know. I’m 10 back, but if for some reason I got it going on the front nine, if I got out there, maybe could post a 3-under par was kind of the number I was looking at. I know 64s are hard to come by here.”

Furyk scattered five birdies throughout his final round and made just one bogey. That came on the last hole, after he teed off into the rough and then landed himself in a bunker.

“Really did a good job other than 15 or 18, where I drove the ball in the rough, both times to the right. Very similar swings,” he said. “Did a good job of keeping the ball in front of me, keeping it in the fairway.”

“The one regret, I wish I’d have got that ball on the fairway at 18. It would have been a little more exciting.”

Furyk was coached by his father, Mike, the former head pro at Uniontown Country Club. The younger Furyk, a big Steelers fan, spent time with Ben Roesthlisberger at a Callaway event Tuesday at Heinz Field.

“Ben and I had some fun, hit the shots through there, over the railing from the upper deck,” he said.

At Oakmont, Furyk, who lives in Florida, was still a local favorite, and fans were calling out their Pennsylvania hometowns to him.

“I had a ton of support this week from my birthplace, West Chester, I heard a lot,” he said. “I heard Lancaster, where I grew up. I heard Manheim township where I went to high school. I heard all kinds of stuff from Western PA. My dad was a pro in Uniontown. I heard every little town and borough through here. My mom and dad grew up in Natrona Heights and Lower Burrell. I heard that. I heard their high schools being called out. I had a lot of places claiming me. It was a lot of fun.”

Elizabeth Bloom: ebloom@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1750 and Twitter @BloomPG.