Associated Press
Sunday, March 5
MIAMI -- Jim Furyk can chalk up his incredible comeback Sunday to Tiger Woods.
Standing on the 12th tee, six shots behind Franklin Langham with seven holes to play in the Doral-Ryder Open, Furyk recalled the thrilling turnaround a month ago when he was paired with Woods in
the final round at Pebble Beach.
Woods was seven strokes down with seven holes to play. Furyk had a ringside seat to an unimaginable victory as Woods put on an eagle-birdie-par-birdie finish and Matt Gogel stumbled down the stretch.
"If you had told me Tiger would win that tournament, I would have laughed at you," he said.
On Sunday, it was Furyk who had the last laugh.
With five birdies on his last seven holes, he closed with a 7-under 65 to win Doral by two strokes over Langham.
"I told myself he (Woods) won that event because he believed that he could," Furyk said. "If I didn't believe I could still win, then it definitely wouldn't have happened today. Maybe I learned something from that."
Furyk didn't hole a wedge from the fairway for eagle, or punch the air with a massive uppercut with every birdie. He simply never counted himself out, telling caddie Fluff Cowan he needed a 30 on
the back nine to have a chance.
That's just what he delivered on the tame Blue Monster.
"Under that pressure, that's the best nine holes I've played on tour," Furyk said.
Nick Price made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 67 that left him alone in third at 270, one stroke ahead of David Duval (66) and Shigeki Maruyama (69), who secured his position in the top 50 and an invitation to The Masters.
"I should feel fortunate right now," said Furyk, who earned $540,000. His 23-under 265 tied the tournament record set in 1993 by Greg Norman.
Langham staggered off the course with a harsh lesson.
Starting the final round with a three-stroke lead, Langham birdied the first three holes and looked as though he might shatter Norman's 72-hole record at Doral. Instead, he resembled the Shark at Augusta National, when Norman squandered a six-shot lead in the final round of the 1996 Masters.
"My time will come," said Langham, who closed with a 70 after making four pars and three bogeys over the final seven holes. "That's golf. If you don't have a tough chin, you won't be out here very long."
It was the second straight year at Doral that a player going after his first victory stumbled down the stretch. Last year it was Greg Kraft, who chunked his 5-iron into the water on the 18th and had to scramble to make bogey for second place.
A lead that Langham had held for 28 holes finally vanished on the 17th.
"No, no, no, no," Langham moaned, after hitting a knuckleball out of a bad lie that skirted over the mounds guarding a bunker right of the green and into the gallery. His first chip didn't reach the green, and he wound up with a bogey.
"All of a sudden, I have a 20-foot putt with a chance to take the lead," Furyk said. The putt dropped into the center of the cup.
Langham's last chance for a playoff ended when his 10-foot birdie putt ran past the hole, and he had to make a 3-footer for par. Furyk finished off his fifth career victory with a 5-foot birdie putt.
"I gave him a little bit of light," Langham said. "He took advantage."
It was a shocking turnaround, just like when Woods roared from behind to overtake a fast-fading Gogel at Pebble Beach.
When Langham chipped in for birdie on the 11th, his lead was back to six strokes for the third time in the final round.
"At that point, it was tough to think things were going to turn your way," Furyk said. "I just kept plugging away."
Furyk made a 12-foot birdie on No. 12, then picked up two more strokes with a 20-footer on No. 13 as Langham failed to save par from the bunker. Langham dropped another shot on the 14th by missing the fairway and the green, his 5-foot par putt catching the right lip, and Furyk applied more heat by hitting a 6-iron into 2 feet for birdie on the 175-yard 15th.
That Furyk managed to match Norman's record on the Blue Monster was no surprise. The course was toned down after criticism of Raymond Floyd's redesign, and it was left vulnerable by the absence of any semblance of wind most of the week.
Still, Langham was playing like he could win on any course under any condition, and he had plenty of support. A couple of guys in bright red shirts that said, "Lang's Gang" were whooping and hollering as if they were at a Georgia-Florida football game.
Langham was giving them reason to cheer, and when his chip fell for birdie on the 11th hole, the tournament figured to be over.
And then suddenly, shades of Pebble Beach.
Divots
Norman says he will play two more seasons, and eight more majors, before significantly cutting back his schedule.
Heart-transplant recipient Erik Compton birdied the 18th for a 71, putting him at 2-over 290 for the week.
Mark Calcavecchia, who needed at least a fifth-place finish to avoid missing The Masters for the first time since 1986, was out of contention and closed with a 79 to finish last.
Sunday, March 5
MIAMI -- Jim Furyk can chalk up his incredible comeback Sunday to Tiger Woods.
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| Franklin Langham got to 24-under, then made three bogeys over the final six holes. |
