Jim Furyk’s nearly three-year wait for a 14th PGA Tour title was extended through four hours of weather delays before he finally clinched the Tampa Bay Championship by one stroke on Sunday.
In a final round disrupted by thunderstorms, the former US Open champion shot a two-under-par 69 for a 13-under tournament total, and his first PGA Tour win in 59 starts since the 2007 Canadian Open.
The 39-year-old American scrambled to make bogey at the last hole after driving into the trees, needing to two-putt from 30 feet to claim victory over South Korea’s K.J. Choi.
“I have a habit of making it tough on myself. I always make it interesting and starting on 17 the nerves got to me a little bit,” Furyk, who will rise from ninth to seventh in the world on the back of the victory, told the Golf Channel.
Bubba Watson (68) finished at 11-under in third, while his fellow American Nick Watney (67) was fourth on nine-under-par.
Choi, who began the round three strokes behind Furyk, pulled level with the American on 12-under after four birdies over his first six holes but his charge faltered and he posted a 67.
“All I can say is I tried my best today. My shots felt great,” Choi, twice a winner of the event on the Copperhead Course, told reporters.
“You know, my hat is off to Jim, because he just played fantastic,” he said.
I tried to put some pressure early in the round with some birdies, but he was patient enough to hang in there and play well,” the South Korean said.
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