Jim Furyk's Alarm Fails, Misses Tee Time

Call it the power of technology to go wrong at the worst time. 

This morning Jim Furyk’s cell phone, which he also uses as an alarm clock, didn’t go off. 

The hotel had power, but his phone had died. 

“I don’t know if something happened with the charger or what,” Furyk said in a statement issued late morning. “I woke up at 7:23 and tore out of there, put a pair of pants on and shirt…I have no belt or socks and my shoes aren’t tied yet. I actually got into the locker room at 7:35, but I guess I had to be on the tee.”

He said that it has only happened one other time, and that was many years ago at Bay Hill. 

An alternate filled in for two holes, and Furyk joined them at the third. 

The disappointment was on several levels. 

“It is a great golf course. I was looking forward to the event. I’m third in (FedEx Cup) points, so to possibly severely hurt a good year,” he said. “To hurt a good year after putting myself in that position. I played my heart out all year, so to then limit myself to one less event than the rest of the field.”

There were other down sides as well. If he had stayed home on purpose, he could have gone to the first day of school with his children. However, he is headed back to Ponte Vedra today.

“I don’t know what the scenario is for me to make it to the TOUR Championship, if I’ve hurt myself for that,” he added. “Two years ago, I would have really hurt myself.” 

Being in third place, he will certainly advance to the second week of play, but if Ernie Els and Steve Stricker play well this week, it will make it more difficult for Furyk to catch them before the end of the Playoffs. 

“No matter what tournament it was, I’d be upset,” Furyk noted. “But I’m more upset because it is this one. We are here at the end of the deal.”