Jim Furyk draws favorite tag at Tiger-less Buick Open at Warwick Hills Golf and C.C.

From WorldGolf.com News Services

With Buick Open regulars Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh absent from the field, the consensus favorite this week appears to be Jim Furyk.

Coming off a tie for second-place with Woods at the U.S. Open, Furyk owns a streak of 33 consecutive rounds under par at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club. The 2003 Buick Open champion, Furyk has posted seven top-10 finishes and is 12-for-12 in making cuts at the event while shooting par or better in 47 of his 48 rounds on the course at Grand Blanc, Mich.

Furyk said one of the main keys to playing well at Warwick Hills is accuracy off the tee.

"It's a tight golf course," Furyk told reporters Wednesday. "(No. 9) is the smallest fairway I think we play on tour. There are a lot of pine trees and low limbed trees just off the fairways here that you can get under and have a hard time getting out.

"For anyone not driving down the middle of the fairway, scoring is tough."

Furyk said wedge play is also important in the tournament, which tees off Thursday.

"If you get the ball in the fairway, it's not a very long golf course," Furyk said. "You're going to have a lot of short irons in your hand.

"When I'm playing well, those are the strengths of my game: I get the ball in play, I keep it in the fairway and I consider myself a pretty good short-iron player. I have to be, because I'm not one of the longer players on Tour."

Furyk said he normally feels pretty confident on Warwick Hills' 7,127-yard, par-72 layout.

"The golf course suits my game and my style well," Furyk said. "If I'm going to show up and play the golf courses where I feel I have the best chances, this would be one of them."

So far, Furyk has enjoyed a solid season, making 12 of 14 cuts in PGA Tour events with five top-10 finishes and nine top-25s. The world's No. 3-ranked player has earned nearly $2.3 million in earnings and is eighth in the FedExCup standings.

"The year has been pretty good," said Furyk, who has finished second in two of his last three tournaments, including the U.S. Open and the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. "Obviously the last month or so has been much better with a couple of second-place finishes and almost getting over the hump and getting a win.

"(I've) probably been a little bit more inconsistent this year than I would like to be, but still, it has been a pretty solid year and I would love to finish it off well."

Furyk said the absence of Woods and Singh — both missing from the tournament for the first time since 2001 — will have little effect on his approach. Woods, the defending champion, is a no-show after his wife gave birth to the couple's first child last week and Singh, the winner the previous two years, is out of action with an elbow injury.

"I don't think anyone really looks at it in that manner," Furyk said. "You really need to go out there and prepare your own game for the golf course and prepare for the golf course the best way you know how. And whoever is in the field isn't really — it shouldn't matter to any other player, if that makes sense.

"I've never looked at if it's a strong field or a weak field. Never have I shown up at an event and looked down the list to see who is here and who is not."

AT&T National field beefs up

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that not only will Tiger Woods return to action in the AT&T National July 5-8 at Congressional Country Club, but the first-year tournament will also add three-time major champion Phil Mickelson to the field that is already expected to include world No. 3-ranked player Furyk and No. 4 Adam Scott.

An AT&T National official told the AP Wednesday that Woods will make an official announcement that he plans to play on Thursday or Friday. The announcement comes as no surprise as Woods is the host for the tournament.

The fact that Mickelson is playing in the AT&T National is indeed news. Mickelson missed the cut at the U.S. Open while trying to play with an injured wrist, but said that after 10 days of rest and rehabilitation, he's been given the okay to play again.

"Two specialists looked at it and agreed there were injuries in multiple joints but they're much better now because of the rest," Mickelson said on his Web site. "The cortisone shot helped with one of the joints and there's no real structural damage. The doctors both feel I'm ready to go back and play at 100 percent effort."

June 28, 2007