|
Sidelines
Kalani Simpson
|
Hawaii has Furyk thinking vacation after Sony Open
JIM Furyk, who had just shot his second consecutive 67, sounded like 5:30 on a Friday.
That's because it was 5:30 on a Friday.
"I'm tired," the Sony Open in Hawaii's co-leader (with Chad Campbell) said yesterday after his round.
It was Pau Hana Time. You could hear it in his voice. See it in the way he sat.
He just looked like a guy who could use a vacation.
(OK, you could also tell in other ways. Like him coming out and saying that he could use a vacation.)
"It's needed," he said, "and I'm looking forward to it."
Yes, Furyk has it all already planned. He's jetting out of here. He's gone. Three weeks off. Vacation. Sweet vacation, just around the corner. He can already taste it, just another couple of days.
It's Friday at 5:30 and his break begins any minute.
"I'm kind of really anxious to hang out and be with my kids and my wife for a few days before we go home," he said.
You know what that feels like. It's Friday at 5:30. It's the last day of school.
One thing, though. He has two more days of work. Two more days to go. Two more days of golf. Two more days that might include the Waialae wind.
"I think it tests you as much or more mentally as it does physically," Furyk said. That wind wears you out.
But he was ready, in the preliminary rounds. He came off four straight 72s at the Mercedes on Maui. That's consistency. Most of these guys are coming off a layoff. For most of these guys, it's their first tournament in a long, long time. Furyk, no. He may be tired, but he's sharp.
"I had two months off," said Campbell, who shares Furyk's 67-67--134 6 under score. "I didn't play anything in the offseason. So it was nice to get refreshed and come out here and play well."
Refreshed?
Furyk just keeps marching toward that window, like a guy in the desert just headed for that palm. Like a guy -- well, like a guy whose vacation is only two days away.
For everyone else it's the first day of school. For Furyk, he's still on last year's calendar. Two more days. Just two more days.
"I need to take a little bit of time off," he said, "after having a pretty full year last year. I never really did take much time off. Last year I played through and only had three weeks off before Mercedes."
But now here he is, in the lead. And he loves it here, has played well here, likes the event (he's made $271,433 in it, career).
And the 67s say he loves the wind.
He's playing here, and taking his vacation during most of the "West Coast" portion of the West Coast Swing.
It may just pay off. Maui was the perfect preparation for the Sony this year, Furyk said. His four 72s at the Mercedes seemed to have him ready for what was about to come next.
"The golf courses are totally different, but you still have to hit those low, piercing shots and you have to be able to work the ball into the wind a little bit," Furyk said. "That was a big benefit."
So no, he isn't already gone, not just yet. Furyk insisted a good night's rest would be all he needed to come out ready to go today. He can taste the vacation, but he can wait.
Can't he?
Could you?
"If I went on and played good and won the tournament I won't be upset about having three weeks off, you'd better believe that," he said. And if he doesn't? "I'm still not going to be upset about having some time off."
The Mercedes on Maui says he can still put four days together in a row. He needs to. It may be Friday, but in golf Friday is Wednesday. He's over the hump, but he still has miles to go before he sleeps.