Every player in this 104th U.S. Open field was well aware of the pain Shinnecock Hills could dole out. Jim Furyk has known enough pain the last year since winning the 103rd Open.
After undergoing surgery on his left wrist in March, Furyk waited until Monday before deciding to uphold the honor of defending champion by returning for golf’s most prestigious tournament. He shot a 2-over 72 yesterday but, most important, he was pain-free.
“I’m fine, fine,” Furyk said after his round. “Health-wise, there’s no problem. Obviously I hit in the rough my share, but the wrist felt good. It actually felt better today than it has all week.”
“I mean, I’m assuming that’s probably a little adrenaline because I’m excited about playing,” said Furyk. “My wrist is fine. Now I just have to focus on my game a little bit.”
Furyk knew he had almost no chance of defending his title. When he had the surgery, doctors told him the recovery would take three to six months. Next Wednesday will make three months.
Obviously, Furyk is ahead of schedule only because of the Open. He acknowledged earlier this week that if this were not the Open and he was not the defending champ, he’d wait until the wrist was 100 percent.
But then he started to think of the roar he’d hear on the first hole. Furyk, starting on the back side, got a huge sendoff from New York golf fans who appreciated Furyk’s willingness to gut it out. An adrenaline-fueled birdie on 10 brought a huge ovation.
“I definitely have some rust out there,” said Furyk. “Physically I made a few bad swings and they usually jumped up and bit me. For the most part, there was a little rust in thinking and getting around the golf course.”