SOUTHPORT, England – For the first time in 22 years, Jim Furyk had to make different plans for the third week in July.
The 2018 Ryder Cup captain did not qualify for this week’s Open Championship, the first major he’s not eligible for since the 1995 Open at St. Andrews. Instead, he will tee it up at the Barbasol Championship, the PGA Tour’s opposite-field event in Alabama. Davis Love III, Hunter Mahan and Retief Goosen are a few of the other notables in the field.
Furyk, 47, has had a rough season, managing only one top-10 in 15 starts. That puts him at No. 147 in the FedExCup standings, though he will not lose his card even if he does not crack the top 125 by season’s end (money-list exemption).
Ranked ninth in the world at the end of 2015, Furyk has dropped to No. 86, one of several reasons why he wasn’t eligible for The Open. He also didn’t reach the Tour Championship last fall.
There is still an outside chance that he could get into the field this week at Royal Birkdale. He is No. 3 on the alternate list, behind James Hahn and Danny Lee.
Source: Internet
