Posted on: Saturday, December 6, 2003

Furyk's 67 leads Grand Slam

By Jaymes Song
Associated Press

PO'IPU BEACH, Kaua'i — U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk picked up his short game at the right time.

Furyk putted just 12 times on the final nine holes as he opened with a 5-under-par 67 yesterday to take a five-stroke lead over Masters champion Mike Weir in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.

"Through the course of the day, you're going to miss some putts and make some putts," Furyk said. "It seems like on the front nine, I missed my share. On the back nine, I definitely made more than my share."

British Open champion Ben Curtis shot a 73 and PGA champion Shaun Micheel had a 75 in the 36-hole event for the winners of this year's four majors.

It was the first event in the Grand Slam's 21-year history featuring all first-time major champions.

Furyk was down a stroke when he took command in the middle of the round. After sinking a 4-foot birdie putt on the 405-yard ninth hole to tie Weir, Furyk birdied three of the next five holes to open a three-stroke advantage.

An 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 No. 10 gave Furyk his first lead.

"I had a little hard time early on getting the ball in the hole and missing putts," he said. "But I made up for it on the back nine where I really made a bunch of putts, a bunch of 15-footers, some birdies and saved some pars."

His round included six birdies and one bogey, which came on the 209-yard No. 3 when his tee shot found the right-side rough underneath a tree.

Furyk, a part-time Maui resident, used his knowledge of the Hawaiian trade winds that blew 15 to 20 mph. His accurate drives put him in good position, hitting 10 of his first 13 fairways.

He finished with 29 putts.

"Overall, I'm happy with the position I'm in," he said. "I want to stay focused on going out and playing another good round."

Weir and Furyk were at 35 at the turn and shared a three-stroke lead over Curtis.

Weir, the first Canadian to win a major, was steady all day, parring 16 holes. He had six pars before sinking an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-3 seventh. The birdie gave Weir a one-stroke advantage before Furyk regained the lead. Weir's bogey on No. 17 gave Furyk a four-stroke lead.

The quartet battled damp and breezy conditions at the 7,081-yard oceanside Po'ipu Bay Golf Course on the south shore of Kaua'i. The weeklong rains softened the greens and soaked the rough.

"The greens are tough out there," Furyk said. "They are difficult to read, a little tricky. I think they fooled all of us a few times, getting the line and the speed correct."

The gallery was noticeably smaller from previous years with the absence of five-time defending champion Tiger Woods.

Po'ipu, designed around several ancient Hawaiian worship sites, features 86 bunkers and seven water hazards. The scenic course has a backdrop of the lush, green, rugged mountains on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.

Curtis, 26, the youngest participant in the field, tried all day to try and get back at even par after bogeying three times on the front nine. He had birdies on the par-4 Nos. 5 and 15.

"I was quite pleased the way I drove the ball," he said. "Usually after some time off, that's the first thing that goes. I could have made a few more putts."

Micheel ran into trouble early when hit twice to get out of the bunker on the 380-yard No. 4 and recorded a double bogey. His two birdies were on Nos. 11 and 18.

Last year, Woods won his fifth straight Grand Slam title, finishing with a tournament-record 11-under 61. He had a record 17-under 127 total for a 14-stroke victory over Davis Love III and Justin Leonard.

This year's winner will receive $400,000 from the $1 million purse.