BETHLEHEM – On moving day, Pennsylvania native Jim Furyk proved that the most important round is the next one.
Drawing the first Saturday tee time at a major championship is not ideal, but there was Furyk alongside Australian Gavin Coles in the 9:45 a.m. slot at Saucon Valley Country Club.
The Manheim Township graduate and 1987 PIAA champion, wanting desperately to nail down that elusive major title in his home state, was first on the range after second round 5-over 76 planted him on the cutline in this 42nd U.S. Senior Open.
The defending champ didn’t stay there.
“Good news-bad news. The good news is you get right back out on the golf course, so you can kind of put it aside and go play golf,” Furyk said following a third-round 5-under 66.
Furyk and Coles signed their cards about 3:40 after teeing off, with Furyk climbing from a tied for 45th to as high as 13th early on day 3.
“Bad news is you want some time to think about what went wrong and what I need to work on this morning on the range. I got up a little early (Saturday), got to the range early and was the first one out there. I wanted to make sure I hit some shots and kind of worked through some things.”
Furyk’s “bad decisions” on Friday didn’t wander onto Saucon Valley’s Old Course a day later.
He admitted that getting to even-par after 54 holes was the goal, and he got there with crisper drives and a hot putter.
“I looked to where even par was when the morning started and thought about, if I could work my way back toward that over the weekend and have a good finish, whatever it may be,” he said.
“To kind of knock that putt in on 16 to get back to even, I put myself in pretty decent position for the tournament.”
Furyk’s round came alive at the reachable par-4 10th, with Furyk rolling in a 30-foot slider for eagle.
“It’s playing about – not counting the uphill, it’s about 260 to the front today,” Furyk said.
“For me a little uphill, is just kind of a solid drive. I thought I could fly it right around the front edge. It had some height to it, so it actually stopped on the green about pin high, about 30 feet right of the pin.”
Consecutive birdies at 15 and 16 capped his round and provided the momentum needed for a strong Sunday finish. The early crowd following the Furyk and Coles added a boost, as well.
“Even on the first tee there was a tone of people out, a great reception this morning and really cool to come back to Pennsylvania and see all the folks,” Furyk said.
“They had a nice crowd yesterday and I didn’t play very well and give them something to cheer for, so it was nice to get out there today and hit some good shots and shoot a good number.”
Furyk (Even) is currently tied for 15th.
Follow Eric Epler on Twitter -- @threejacker
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