Jim Furyk made his PGA Tour return on Thursday at the Wells Fargo Championship, shooting 1-over 73 at Charlotte’s Quail Hollow Club in his first competitive round since September 2015.
When his round began on the 10th tee in the morning wave, the 2003 U.S. Open champion felt something he didn’t anticipate.
“The gun went off this morning and I felt unusually calm this morning,” Furyk said after the round. “I expected to be very nervous but I felt very calm on the 10th tee. It was surprising but it was a good feeling.”
The difference between Furyk posting an under-par round and the over-par one he had was his approach to the par-4 14th, which ultimately landed in the water.
“I hit the ball real well on my back nine, made a little bit of a careless double bogey at 14,” he said. “Actually a decent second shot, it just spun left and ended up in the water.”
Two birdies — one on each nine — and a bogey left him with 73, eight shots behind joint Day 1 leaders Steve Wheatcroft and Andrew Loupe.
Furyk is making his return after suffering a wrist injury during last fall’s FedEx Cup playoffs. He withdrew from the BMW Championship in September after just six holes, unable to stand the pain. He pulled out of the Tour Championship and U.S. Presidents Cup team in hopes that the rest would help him. It didn’t. Furyk chose surgery in February and a definitive May comeback date.
This is a dry run this week, with a goal to knock off some rust and make the cut. It’s a setup for a home game next week at TPC Sawgrass, where Furyk lives, for The Players Championship. The good news — yes, good news — for Furyk is that he’s not yet physically able to spend a lot of time grinding on his game on the range.
“I can’t go out and practice and beat a ton of balls,” he said. “I’m going to go to the range after we speak and maybe limit it to 10 or 15 balls. I don’t enjoy hitting balls, so actually it’s kind of fun. I’m not really allowed to or can’t, so I’m enjoying that part of it.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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