Jim Furyk says US Tour rule change has not

upset him ... that's the way he is

FROM THE PGATOUR.COM WEBSITE
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
Wednesday was business as usual for Jim Furyk. He spent two hours in searing sunshine on the practice green, testing a variety of putters, including a couple of belly models (he was still undecided on which one to use).
Then Furyk headed for the practice range to invest some more sweat equity -- literally, as well as figuratively -- into his uniquely effective swing.
A two-time winner already in 2010, Furyk made some unwanted headlines last week when he missed his pro-am tee time at The Barclays by five minutes and was disqualified from the first event of the US PGA Tour Play-offs for the FedExcup.
As Furyk returned home to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida to sit out the first Play-offs event, many of his peers, most notably Phil Mickelson, came to his defence. The rule was too harsh, they said, and since the gaffe occured during the pro-am it should not have affected the actual competition.

On Tuesday, the Tour announced that it was going to suspend the regulation for the rest of the year and review it for the future. Furyk said Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem called him on Monday to let him know of the plans -- and the veteran pro was pleased to hear the news, even though it wouldn't change what happened to him.

"I think people are wondering whether I'm going to be upset that they changed it," Furyk said. "That couldn't be farther than the case. I think there were enough players who were not in favour of the rule. I think the commissioner himself said he didn't like the rule in hindsight.

"Therefore I think the best option, the best scenario was to go ahead and change it as quick as possible."

Unable to play at Ridgewood, Furyk slipped from third to eighth in the FedExCup standings. The fall was significant because the top five entering THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola are the only players who control their own destiny when the points are reset.
A win by any one of those five players automatically guarantees them the FedExCup and the $10 million bonus.
Even so, Furyk has two more events to get back into position -- on courses where he's had success, too. Furyk has tied for seventh and eighth the last two years at TPC Boston and he tied for 14th and second at Cog Hill in 2007 and 2009, respectively, when that course was the venue for the BMW Championship.
Not to mention, Furyk is on a short list for the US PGA Tour's Player of the Year Award, so his performance in the Play-offs could be a deciding factor. Furyk is just focused on playing as well as he can, though, and the rest will take care of itself.
As for not getting a chance to play last week at Ridgewood? When Furyk got the news that he was disqualified, he said he had no one to blame but himself. Just because the rule has been changed doesn't mean he's changing his tune.

"The way I look at it is probably much different than what I've been hearing people talking about," Furyk said. "Everyone's been acting like it's a penalty to me, like I've lost points or fallen back.

"It basically equates to missing a cut. You're going to have to earn so many points to put yourself in position for THE TOUR Championship. And now, what I've done is I've limited myself. I now have two events to earn those points rather than three."

Furyk currently has 1,691 points, putting him 2,246 points behind FedExCup leader Matt Kuchar, last week's winner at The Barclays. Furyk could charge to the top of the list if he wins this week, but in the latest FedExCup scenarios, there's also a very remote chance he could drop to 27th should he miss the cut.

"I've read scenarios where I have to finish fourth in both events or second in one event," Furyk said. "It sounds so ominous, but I had to do that whether it was two events or three.

"Now I've just given myself one less opportunity. But the way you need to look at is I still have two opportunities and hopefully I'll be able to take advantage of them."