The history of the Travelers Championship is forever marked by the resounding feat of American Jim Furyk who, in 2016, was the first to reach the mythical score of 58 on the PGA Tour. That’s 12 under par with only 24 putts on the counter!
One of the most popular tournaments in the PGA Tourle Travelers Championshipwhich takes place on the course of the TPC River Highlands in Connecticut from Thursday, was created 70 years ago. If the record holder is Billy Casper with 4 titles, the most celebrated remains a golfer who has never won the tournament: Jim Furyk.
His 58 did not grant him a title
The winner of theUS Open 2003 wrote history in one day August 7, 2016during the last lap of the Travelers by putting on the trifle of 1 eagle, 10 birdies and 7 pars for a score of 58, i.e. the best ever on the PGA Tour. Made on a par 70, this incredible score did not allow him to lift the trophy.
He crosses the cut in extremis
His delay was far too great on Sunday. Anyway, nothing was going right since June and his 2nd place obtained at the US Open. His swing, so atypical, was even adrift. His first rounds are disastrous, and only a huge putt at 18 allows him to cross the cut in-extremis.
The initiative of his caddy changes the game
Unaccustomed to such poor performance, his iconic caddy Mike « Fluff » Cowan takes a decision that is unprecedented to say the least. He sends a series of photos of his employer’s swing to his father and coach Mike Furyk. Will the father’s advice bear fruit? The suspense is total…
Only one eagle on the map, but zero bogey
It is therefore without the knowledge of his own free will that the winner of the 2010 FedEx Cup starts his last lap early in the morning, freed from all pressure since he is in 70th place. At 3, he directly enters a 120 meter approach for an eagle. The feat is done on the sly, in the absence of television cameras which plan to take the antenna later.
Already author of a 59 in 2013
Confidence is back. The outward journey is already a record since it passes in 27. “Big Jim” smells the smell of the feat especially since he has already tasted this so unusual perfume… In 2013, he had already achieved a score of 59 during the BMW Championshipthus integrating the small caste of “59enners” whose Al Geiberger was the initiator in 1977.
« After having investigated putts at 10, 11 and 12 (7 birdies in a row!) and finding myself at already 11 under par, it became a mental test“, he declared at the end of his game. And the head, Furyk knows it. It is even its main strength. At 15, a comma preventing him from birdie doesn’t seem to bother him too much…
With the regularity of the day – 13 out of 14 fairways hit and 18 greens in regulation – he did not weaken during the last holes, even scoring a last birdie at 16 with a beautiful putt from 7 meters. At 46, Furyk holds his ultimate record and not the least: 58, or 12 under par! For the anecdote, the US captain of the Ryder Cup 2018 finished 5th, 3 strokes behind the winner, the Scotsman Russell Knox.
He almost got disqualified!
However, the feat almost never darkened the pages of history. His partner of the day, Miguel Angel Carballo, no doubt disturbed by so many birdies to note, added one too many to 14. Fortunately, the Argentinian noticed the error before officially submitting the scorecard. If he hadn’t, Furyk would have been disqualified!
A record already beaten in other circumstances
However, this is not the first in the history of golf. Strange fact, the previous week, the German Stephen Jaeger had also achieved a 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour like others before him on other circuits. Some even hit 57s, but in practice games like Louis Oosthuizen on his journey from Mossel Bay Golf Club in South Africa, Jhared Hack in 2021 or those at university level such as Alex Ross au Dogwood Invitational in Atlanta in 2019.
