BETHLEHEM, Pa (WHTM) — You couldn’t miss Michael Noggle and Tim Strausner this weekend at the U.S. Senior Open at Saucon Valley Country Club this weekend. The two were following Lancaster native Jim Furyk as he looked to repeat as champion.
“We really like to follow jimmy. we’ve followed him in quite a few tournaments over the years,” said Strausner, a Shippensburg resident.
They like to follow him so much that they made their own matching custom “Furyk Fanatics” t-shirts. The blue shirts are almost like jerseys, dawning the number 58 on the back. But that number has a significance.
“We have the 58’s on the back because Jimmy is the only tournament player to ever have 58 in a tournament,” said Noggle, a Carlisle resident.
Furyk shot that historic 58 in 2016 during the final round of the Travelers Championship. He recorded ten birdies and an eagle in that round and finished the tournament tied for fifth.
And the “Furyk Fanatics” don’t just like Jim, a Manheim Township graduate, for the hometown connection.
“He’s really a nice guy. He actually talks to us and comes up to see us whenever we are at the tournaments and it’s really a lot of fun with him,” Noggle said.
Furyk knows the fanatics well. He always spots Michael and Tim in their shirts at tour events.
“Those guys have traveled to events around the PGA Tour in the past so always in the powder blue and a lot of fun,” said Furyk. “Coming back to this event as the defending champion and also being in my home state, kind of Eastern PA, not far from where I grew up is really kind of a cool feeling.”
Furyk, the 2021 U.S. Senior Open Champion, couldn’t go back to back. He finished +4 (288) across the four rounds to finish in a tie for 25th.