Jim Furyk Gets His Game Sharp and Partners with GE to Promote Healthy Living

Jim Furyk hates MRI machines; he doesn't like having MRIs.

"I've probably had 12 in my life," he said on Tuesday morning from New York as he gave his latest report on his newest interest—a healthier lifestyle for everyone, worldwide.

"I probably decided around age 30 to start living a healthier lifestyle," says the former U.S. Open champion. "I made an effort to eat better, work out more to prolong my career."

That career took a jump last year when Furyk won the year-long FedEx Cup competition and the $10 million that went with it. He was named PGA Tour Player of the Year and Player of the Year by the PGA of America.

Furyk has spent time talking about GE's new Optima 430, a new age MRI machine that is a world away from the closed-in tubes that he spent time stressing over. "That's when I found out I was claustrophobic," Furyk said. "You're cramped into one of those things in an uncomfortable position for 45 minutes, you have body parts going numb, wasn't good."

The Optima does away with that. "I could have had my wrist done while I sat in a comfortable chair, reading a magazine," Furyk said as he recalled his only major injury, a bad wrist that required surgery in 2004.

GE is a partner of the PGA Tour and Furyk is now part of their promotion at www.healthymagination.com.

Furyk says he's the perfect guy for the task because he's 41 and doesn't want to miss any time away from the tour due to injury.

At Bay Hill, he checked out another GE product called the IDXA machine. "You lie on a table and it scans your entire body in seven minutes. About a minute later you get a print-out that shows your bone mass density, your body makeup, lean muscle, fat and more. One of the problems with golfers is that some muscles build up more than others, and in my case, it's my left side. The tour trainers are trying to get us more symmetrical and that's another thing the IDXA shows. It measures a lot of things."

Furyk is off this week, spending time some Monday time with the GE folks but getting ready to head for Augusta and the Masters.

He's quietly been rounding into form with a tie for ninth this past week at Bay Hill (74-69-71-71: 285 3-under) and the week before at the Transitions (67-70-69-70: 283 8-under) where he tied for 13th.

So with Augusta so very close, who would Furyk pick on his five-man Masters fantasy team along with himself? "That's easy," he said quickly, "I've been doing it all day: Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Nick Watney and Dustin Johnson."

There you have it from Jim Furyk, Player of the Year, GE spokesman and 2011 Masters hopeful.