THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT

May 26, 2002

Jim Furyk

JACK NICKLAUS: Take it away.

JIM FURYK: Well I can't say enough forever about how happy I am. It's been -- the last six weeks have been not the best of golf. I missed four cuts in the last seven events. And we come here and win the golf tournament it was a surprise for me also. I've been working hard and hadn't seen any results. But this week it kind of all fell together and it definitely fell together on Sunday. So I was pretty choked up and pretty emotional on the 18th green and I appreciate all the things that Jack said about me. And he's been an idol of every one for so long. So I had to grab that trophy from him and to win his golf tournament and to accept it from him was a special moment.

Q. Why were you so choked up? Just because of the last couple of months? Have you not gone through a stretch like that before?

JIM FURYK: Oh, that didn't choke me up. No, that's a part of golf. You're go through some stretches where you're not going to play your best and not get the ball in the hole and it's frustrating but it's not, that's not the emotional part. The emotional parts of this week are meeting -- I met my wife here and spending time with her family and having a lot of friends and family at the tournament. That's a lot of fun. And like I said earlier, to win a golf tournament with Jack's name on it and his touch and it seems like he has a pretty big hand in everything that goes on around here. And that's why it's such a special event. So to win this event is special to me. That's the emotional part. Everyone's going to go through some stretches where they're not going to play all that well and struggle. And for me it's always, you know, a few weeks I was hitting the ball great and putting horrible and then my putting kind of came around the last few weeks and all of a sudden, I couldn't hit the golf course. I was missing the club fairways in Texas, I couldn't hit a fairway or green and this week I got it back together.

Q. You didn't need your putter today, did you?

JIM FURYK: A few times I didn't, you're right. And I'm glad there's a nice solid pin in a lot of those too. A couple hits going a little firm but in order to win a tournament a lot of times have you to play well, you have to hit good shots you have to make some putts, but you have to get a couple breaks and that kind of all happened for me on the backside.

Q. Did staying with your family help? Does that make it better or --

JIM FURYK: It's a fun week. I looked forward to it. I know my wife looks forward to coming back to Columbus and we spend a little time here. But yeah, I like going where she lives, they live in the Westerville area, and we stay with them over there. And it's comfortable. A lot of good gathers at night. We always have kind of a Friday night dinner with some friends. Last night, with a lot of family. So I look forward to it and I have every one out rooting for me, pulling for me whether I go out and shoot 65 or 80. Every one is out there cheering so it's a lot of fun.

Q. Is that relaxing?

JIM FURYK: I think so. I think so. It's always nice to be comfortable and when you play in your own hometown -- I live in Jacksonville, sometimes you can put a little extra pressure on yourself and the fact that you're -- whether it's getting kind of pulled right and left, tickets. You want to play well because you live there. You know every one at the facility. That can get a little hectic at times and sometimes it's hard to put it behind you. But I think coming here is a little bit more relaxing and I don't really worry about too much here other than getting up and playing golf. So it's a lot of fun to have the support.

Q. Can you tell us what was going through your head as you made the turn and then take us through the chip in and the sand shot?

JIM FURYK: Well, I was really surprised by the time I got to the 7th green. I looked up at the board and I saw that the leader group, I think both guys were 2-over and so the leader was at the time Vijay, who I was playing with had the lead. And I was at 8 and I was caught off-guard a little bit by that. To that point I made one birdie and a couple of good par saves. I kind of started out -- I'm only three back and that's kind of a cheerful -- that's something you look forward to. I'm looking at the board saying, "Wow, I'm only three back." And there's a lot of golf to play. It kind of gets you excited. I missed a birdie putt there but I knocked in a good birdie at 8 and 9 and got within one shot of the lead at the time. And my goal was to kind of go out on the backside -- I wanted to make four birdies on the back. And also I think another uplifting time was going to the 12th green and looking up at the board. At the time they had eight guys on, I think, four guys were at 1 and four guys were at 10 and they only had room for eight names on the board so there could have been more.

Q. There was more.

JIM FURYK: But seeing all those people packed in and then I went ahead and chipped in to get to 11 to tie the lead at the moment. That's an exciting moment. You want to calm down but I made one of those four birdies and I just wanted to keep going. The other, the eagle at 15 -- having a chip in at 12 and an eagle at 15. At that point I know that the tournament, I've got a 2-shot lead, at least the tournament's kind of sitting in my hands and if I play solid, if I go out and birdie or par any of the holes coming in, I'm probably going to win the tournament. So I think the key there was just to stay aggressive and keep trying to hit good shots instead of now getting defensive.

Q. Take us through the shots themselves at 12 and 15.

JIM FURYK: 12, I just, it was a perfect for me it was a perfect 8-iron shot. And I pulled it slightly. I was trying to cut it off the TV Tour to -- probably aiming 15, 20 feet left of the pin. Cut it toward the pin. I pulled it slightly and I hit it the right distance but the center of the green is shorter or the green's probably even with the pin. My ball would have landed about I pin high and I wasn't trying to play aggressive and try to make a birdie and hit a shot back there. But it ended up working. I got a perfect lie, it's a really quick tough shot. It probably would have gone a good six-to-eight feet by had it missed the hole. And you just have to hit that one perfect for it to end up right next to the hole. But I hit a -- I got some spin on it. It really it hit the fringe and with the spin, it kind of instead of stopping, it kind of shot to the right and just got right on line with the hole and went in.

Q. How far was that about?

JIM FURYK: That was probably about 25, 30 feet. I would guess 25 feet. 15, I wanted to hit a good cut, 3-wood in and just hung it a little bit right, which you expect on an uphill lie for the ball to go a little bit left. But I hung it to the right. And you don't -- that's kind of a mistake. You don't want to miss that green out to the right with the pin on the right. You wouldn't expect to get that one up-and-down a lot. But if I missed it left, it would have been a much easier up-and-down but begin I was trying to be aggressive and knock a shot in there and make an eagle or an easy birdie. And I caught a decent lie, but a tough bunker shot, and just happened to hit the right shot. I didn't land it too far onto the green, I wouldn't think, or on the fringe. I couldn't really see the level of the green and the last thing I saw was -- I kind of positioned my head up and saw that it was right on line with the pin. So I just waited for a reaction and hoping and the fans went nuts.

Q. Were you thinking, were you intending -- did you have a thought before that shot you were trying to make?

JIM FURYK: The one on 12, I actually -- when I got there and saw how good the lie was, the shortcut of rough, for me, has always been extremely difficult to play out of here. It's like a bluegrass or --

JACK NICKLAUS: It's bluegrass, it's stubby and it's tough.

JIM FURYK: It gets real sticky and a lot of times the grain gets against you and you can look pretty silly. You can have what looks like a really easy shot from the outside and you can stub it or hit some pretty huge -- I got there and saw all the green was growing towards the pin and the ball was sitting up. It had an unbelievably good lie and I thought about, I thought that it could possibly go in because of how good it was sitting. 15, I'm trying to hit a good shot out, if I would have got that ball 10 feet, I would have been really happy with the shot. And it happened to go in. I hit it the way I wanted to and I'm not sure, like I said, I couldn't see how hard it was going. All I was doing was kind of waiting for a reaction. I knew it was on line.

Q. Did you use the same sand wedge for both shots?

JIM FURYK: No, I used the 56 on 12, and I used a 60 on 15. And that's just the way my wedges are set up, with the bounce. That's the way I wanted to hit it.

Q. You missed some time, almost the whole Florida swing. What was that, an ear infection?

JIM FURYK: Well, I kind of had -- the doctors think that I kind of had a virus that affected my inner ear on my right side. I basically had vertigo. Which just means you're dizzy. And I wouldn't say I'm a hundred percent right now, but I'm feeling much better. And I'm kind of learning a little bit more about the things that I do or my movements that I make that affect me that way. So I guess it was really common. I've had a lot of players on Tour tell me that they have been, they have had something very similar, been affected by the same thing. And I don't think there's any rhyme or reason, it's just a virus like catching a cold, but for some reason it affected my inner ear and did a little damage in there. And the doctors have told me, it's just going to take a little time for everything to kind of right itself. And I've tried a couple different medications and tried some stuff that really quite honestly doesn't seem like it helps all that much. If I just rest, the more tired I am the worse I feel. And if I work real hard or go out and hit a ton of balls and play 18 and go and chip and putt really well, then I wake up in the morning and not feel so well. But if I just pace myself and take my time and pick and choose my spots when I want to practice -- I'm pretty healthy. I feel good.

Q. You almost had to start your year over after taking that off?

JIM FURYK: I got off to a not so quick start, but I got off to a good start in Hawaii the first two events, and then I felt like I was really playing pretty well at the Match Play and that's when all this happened. I woke up one morning and had trouble getting out of bed. And once you find out that it's not like a life threatening or it's real common ailment, then it's not really, it's not much in a big deal. And so I was happy to hear that and just, and then just a matter of taking some time off, staples, sometimes that's good for you. You can relax and reflect a little bit and think about -- and I am not going to, I can think about the west coast, what I need to work on. Spend some more time at home. Which is always nice. We're always on the go out here, so getting to spend three, four weeks at home is quite nice. And then I got ready and after a month off got ready for the Players Championship and had a pretty good event I finished about 15th. So but I think it showed a little bit in Houston and the Master's and since then I think I've had my health has been good and I just particularly haven't been playing well, but I wouldn't blame it on ailments or how I'm feeling, just wasn't, having been scoring real well. And today it was definitely the anti of that. I definitely got the ball in the hole and scored extremely well for where I put the ball on the golf course.

Q. On 18 you're in the fairway bunker it looked like you maybe got a little tentative on the tee shot.

JIM FURYK: You think?

(Laughter.)

Q. What were you thinking then? What was your lie?

JIM FURYK: Had I, had I parred 17 I probably would have played like a 5-wood off the tee or just something. I mean the only thing that could lose the tournament, I felt for me at that point standing on the 18th tee is if I knock it in the creek. And a year ago that wouldn't have bothered me so much, so thanks. A year ago I would have never thought about that creek now the creek comes into play. I watched Vijay make six there yesterday. It's not that difficult a shot. And I have hit a 3-wood down the middle every day. It was the right club today with the wind direction and everything. Just to hit a nice soft cut. But I definitely put a little lock on it and got tentative and just held on and knocked it out in the right bunker. But basically I told myself I had a 4-iron into the green out of the bunker, you just, all I have to do is make one good swing and I'm going to win the golf tournament. So I'm glad that was it.

Q. What was your yardage?

JIM FURYK: I don't have the slightest idea. It was a 4-iron.

Q. I think Shot Link said 190 or something lake that?

JIM FURYK: I was exactly 193 to the pin. But I was trying to hit it 186. How is that? Trying to put it right where I did.

Q. As you're going up to 12 there's like 15 guys that are right there and it could be anybody's, did you think at that time that were you hitting the ball well enough and putting well enough that it very well could be you?

JIM FURYK: Yeah. I would say that I was excited about that. By that fact. I really felt like at that point I was only 9-under par walking up to the 12th green for the day. And I started five back. And here I am a shot out of the lead. That like I said, more than anything that's just kind of -- I was surprised, but that I think adds a lot of excitement and it gets you geared up. I knew that there was a lot of people -- now if there's two guys at 11 and no one else, then you don't know exactly what you have to do to win. When there's 10 guys within a shot of the lead, you know that you're going to have to make a bunch of birdies. So like I said, I wanted to make at least four birdies in the last seven holes. And that's I played them 4-under. So I felt like that might even tie. But I felt like that would give me a real good chance to win the golf tournament. So yeah. That's rare too that I ever really set a score. I know you were real good at that or always talked about that in your career as far as setting a score. You just get credit for that?

JACK NICKLAUS: They gave me credit for it.

JIM FURYK: They did. I never really woke up Sunday morning and decided that that was the score. I always wanted to see the weather and how the course was playing, how it was set up. Because if the greens get a little firmer, a little faster, the pins get tucked, you kind of get a feel out there how hard the course is playing. And looking at the board a little bit. But I felt like this morning it was going to depend a lot on the leader groups. And I was thing, like I said, shooting a 65 that was kind of what I had in the middle of my head to give me a chance. But I rarely ever do that.

Q. Jim, you had a hole out from a bunker, a chip-in, is it really that hard to win a PGA tournament to have to do that?

JIM FURYK: Gets real tough real quick. I don't know how many I had this week but it was definitely a much more solid putting week for me than.

Q. That was weird. You had all that and you only ranked second in putting?

JIM FURYK: Okay. So I've had quite a few this year where I've been about 71st by the end of the tournament and those have been some frustrating weeks, but I've had -- earlier this year I was hitting the ball better than I have in my entire career. And I was maybe top-5 in greens hit and top-5 in fairways hit and just really felt like I could do anything I wanted to with a golf ball. And I was had been shooting 71 because I wasn't putting very well. And you can afford to hit some bad shots and hit some, hit it all over, but if you're banging in putts you can shoot low numbers. It was nice to get the feel back a little bit. And I worked real hard with my dad at home and what we worked on paid off. And I didn't hit the ball probably any better than anyone this week, but I'm knocking some shots in from off the green and making some putts, that made a big difference.

Q. There was so much focus coming into this tournament on Tiger, do you think the way this final round was today just made people forget about Tiger for a few hours?

JIM FURYK: Well I did for a little while. Until you mentioned him.

(Laughter.) Rightfully so. He won the last three events here. He'll probably just be happy to see a new face. You are. I don't know. He won the last three times here. And rightfully so. He won last week, he's the odds on favorite to win the tournament. He deserves all the credit that he gets. I don't think any of the players, it's not like early in his career when we were asked, are you jealous, I mean, he deserves it, he backs it up, he wins golf tournaments, he wins Majors. He's the best player in the world. There's, I mean he deserves all, ever, all of that. And I think that every player knows that.

Q. Your bunker chip-in, was that reminiscent at all of the shot at Firestone that you had?

JIM FURYK: A different type of shot, but I've had a few bunker shots in my career. One in the Ryder Cup. Last year at Firestone. And the one today that have been significant. This one maybe even that much more so because I won the golf tournament. Which didn't happen at Firestone last year. And we came close but we didn't pull it out at Valdarama. So this one is maybe a little more special. But, yeah, I don't know. I probably wouldn't be ranked as the best bunker player, in the top-10 of the best bunker players on Tour, but I don't mind knocking those in late on Sunday. That reputation I could handle.

Q. When you come in a town I guess you come in town a little bit?

JIM FURYK: A little bit.

Q. Other than that week?

JIM FURYK: A little bit.

Q. Do you play out here?

JIM FURYK: No, very little. Very little. I hear of all the wonderful courses, but when we're in town it's usually off time and we spend more time probably in the fall and winter when it's a little cooler. But no, I really haven't played too much of the golf courses, I went out to play where your dad and I went to play. The basket? Longaberger. Last year. I played a pro-am in New Albany, years and years ago. But no, with all the great courses here, with The Golf Club and Scioto and Columbus Country Club and the places that I heard of, you would think I would have got out there and saw some of them. And I know pound for pound this city is as good as any, but I just when we're off I kind of want to, every one out here, when they get a day off they want to go play off actually some of you look at it so much you probably don't, but when I get a day off I want to, I definitely don't want to sit on a golf course. I want to spend some time with my family and do other things. Buckeye games actually I see quite a few of those. I used to get dragged to them, now I'm kind of getting a little into it. We have the occasional good weekend where we can catch an Ohio State game on Saturday and then drive over to Pittsburgh and catch a Steeler game on Sunday.

JACK NICKLAUS: Did Ohio State play Arizona this year?

JIM FURYK: Oh, keep quiet. Actually twice. And Ohio State won both times. They got us at home pretty big and then we were in Florida for the one here, because we had to leave for a trip. Might have been -- it was -- it might have been a President's Cup or something where we had to go and Ohio State was up 28 nothing and at least we made it respectable, 28-21. But yeah, I just wait for the fall until basketball starts and then I perk up. To about November. And then in the winter and then in end of March I'm pretty lively.

JACK NICKLAUS: They dodged Ohio State pretty well in basketball this year. They weren't bad in basketball, Ohio State wasn't.

JIM FURYK: They weren't seeded real well to start, but they had a solid year and were really good. So I'm learning to like the Buckeyes. It's a slowly growing on me.

JACK NICKLAUS: If you show up in town with your family you better.

JIM FURYK: Yeah, I know. The first Christmas I got sweatshirts and hats and I was going, oh, what's all this. But that's okay. That's okay. I enjoyed it. Arizona is not a football -- just going to a football game isn't an exciting day like going to an Ohio State game with the tailgating and just the town revolves around that game. And that's not the case in Tucson. You see more of that in basketball season. So it's a lot of fun. I'm a football fan and I kind enjoy spending the whole day Saturday talking about the game, watching the game and then complaining or being happy about the game afterwards. So it's a lot of fun.

Q. A question about golf now if you don't mind?

JIM FURYK: Just for you though.

(Laughter.)

Q. I'm still here. How does winning here --

JIM FURYK: Don't you have a deadline? You normally run out about this time.

Q. I'll run out right now. How does this win here against this field on this course, do you think, set you up for the next three months, all the Majors in the next three months. Particularly Bethpage?

JIM FURYK: It's definitely a big confidence booster coming up for the U.S. Open. I'm going to take this coming week off. And play Westchester, getting ready for the U.S. Open. After that, my schedule is really kind of up in the air. Hartford is an up in the air event and then I won't play. Tabitha is due July 3rd. So I won't play possibly for quite a few weeks. I'm not going to have the best preparation going for the British. But that's not really all that important. So if everything is on fine, is fine and on time or the baby is early I'll be at the British. If the baby is late then I would, I definitely would like to see two wins at Muirfields would be good, I would like to see Muirfield. But if the baby is late, not here, then I'm not going over.

Q. How with looking back over the last four days how was this because of the weather this year, how was it -- and you've contended when this course has played different too, how was this tournament different to play in this year maybe because of the conditions and was it any more enjoyable apart from the wind?

JIM FURYK: As many, I've played I think this is my 8th Memorial. And I've rarely had the opportunity to see the course play fast, which it's really interesting that way. I think it's a great golf course anyway you look at it. But early in the week got to see a little bit more roll, maybe a little bit more difficult where the ball was running out of some fairways. And I kind of like that, like the golf course playing fast. It got softened up a little bit for the rain Friday night and Saturday night softened it up for the weekend. So it played a little bit more like we're accustomed to, unfortunately, because of the bad weather. And in some years -- but for me I'm not an extremely long player. And I see this as a pretty big golf course. I know some of the long players like Duval or Tiger probably don't hit a lot of long irons into the course here, but I like to see the golf course fast where you still have to work the ball like against the second fairway and hit a little draw out there. 18, hitting a nice cut working against the hill in the fairway and worrying about the ball running out the sides of the fairways. I think that's an advantage for me because I'm a straighter hitter and not being that long I can get the ball still closer to the greens and work some shots out there in the fairway. But that's, you know, that's how if I had my way I would like to see it played. But I've also played the year it was a 54 hole event, Vijay won, I finished second that year. And it was playing long and very wet and you just adjust. And I play the golf course. It's a great set up and a great layout and I enjoy coming here.

Q. Jack has talked a couple times in the last few days about that bunker that you were in today. It will not be as shallow next year?

JACK NICKLAUS: Not that part of it.

Q. Not that part, okay.

JACK NICKLAUS: We redid the bunkers on 18, we lengthened them. They still, at this time, had hit it over Daly hit it over.

JIM FURYK: Did he. It's 295.

JACK NICKLAUS: No, we lengthened it, it's 330.

JIM FURYK: Is it really?

JACK NICKLAUS: Yeah, lengthened it 30 yards this year.

JIM FURYK: Okay.

JACK NICKLAUS: Or 35, whatever it is. So anyway, what we did, we lengthened the bunkers and unfortunately we got the bunkers too shallow. It's a bail out. Next year I'm going to come in, probably put a couple little fingers and so forth in.

JIM FURYK: So I can't leak one out there and hit a 4-iron on the green.

JACK NICKLAUS: Where you were nothing will change. It's up at the end. If he drives it in that end bunker, it's not a penalty. It's not a very hard shot. And it wasn't meant to be. I meant to have that bunker more difficult. It was done after I left here last fall and they just didn't get it tough enough. So that's what I'm going to do.

JIM FURYK: That's a game that I don't really understand there, 330.

JACK NICKLAUS: I don't understand it either. I'm back there where you are. If I could get it to where you are. 90 percent of these bunkers I don't reach any more.

Q. My question was, would that have made that, with you standing on 18 then, knowing that you don't have the luxury of?

JIM FURYK: Well.

Q. Bailing into that, does it make it an even harder shot?

JIM FURYK: Like he said, he wasn't going to change the area that I hit it into, but for me standing on the 18th tee the only way I really felt like, you know, the way I was going to lose the golf tournament -- at that point I thought the tournament was in my hands on the 17th tee -- was to hit it in the water left because your drop doesn't get to the fairway, you drop it in the rough. The rough is very penal. You're probably not going to get the ball to the green. Then you're going to try to get the ball up-and-down for five and you're looking at a lot of double bogeys from there. I'm going to have a two shot lead, so I didn't hit the best shot on the 18th tee, but I didn't hit the worst one I could have either. And I would have liked to stand up there and aimed it right down the left center and just drilled a cut up there. It was a thought in my mind it just didn't work that way.

Q. When you picked 65 I don't suppose you knew no champion had ever done that in the final round here?

JIM FURYK: No. I found that out after I did it. So probably wouldn't have even done it if I, had I known.

Q. Did you by any chance go visit the Jack's new museum this week? Did you have a chance to go?

JIM FURYK: No, I didn't. I did not see it.

Q. Can he hook you up with free ticket?

JIM FURYK: Free tickets. How about the guided tour?

Q. It's open on football Saturdays.

JIM FURYK: I haven't been through it myself?

JACK NICKLAUS: It's actually pretty neat. It was unbelievable. I was, really I was flabbergasted by it. I mean you know, I haven't done, I haven't been involved in putting it together Barbara has been involved a little bit, but it's worth the go.

JIM FURYK: I'll definitely check it out then. I'll check it out. If I don't get there I'll definitely do it before the tournament next year.

Q. Could you go through the card?

JIM FURYK: Okay. Hole by hole. I birdied one with an, I think -- that seems like 12 hours ago. I hit a 6-iron into the green. And I made about a 25 footer. I hit right at the stick and just came up just over the fringe. So I made about a 20 or 25 footer.

Like I said, I made a good save at four and five.

Four I had about a 40 footer for birdie. And I left it short about seven feet. Made a good breaking seven footer to keep the round going.

And five I went for the green in two and hit it in the left water and got the ball up-and-down from about 50 yards for par.

And birdied eight, hitting a 6-iron to about 20 feet.

And birdied nine hitting a 3-wood and a wedge to about eight feet.

Then the chip in at 12 from left of the green from about 25 feet after an 8-iron.

Birdied 14 with a 4-wood off the tee and a 9-iron to about six feet. Maybe seven, eight feet.

15 I hit a driver and a 3-wood in the right bunker and holed a 60 degree sand wedge. And I hit a 4-iron at 16, by far the best shot of the day, actually, at that time. I hit it about 15 feet. And knocked that in for birdie.

And the only bogey came at 17 today with an -- I had a 3-wood and just the wind was going left to right and I tried to hold one and turn it against the wind a little bit and just kind of pulled it slightly. Hit it down the left side. I thought it was going to be okay, but it just kind of kept hanging into the left and I had to stand in the bunker with the ball above my feet. Probably played a, not the smartest shot I could have. But I tried to hit a 6-iron out of there. Towards the front edge of the green. And because of the lie being so much above my feet I hooked it badly left of the bunker. And caught a good lie over there on the side of the hill and actually probably could have got it up-and-down, but at the time it was a smart play to knock it, not get too cute and knock it 15 feet past the hole, and try to make the putt from there. And I got a great read off of Vijay's putt because he was on the same line and I guess I just didn't get it on the right line. I thought I hit a good putt and it didn't go in.

Q. How far was the bunker shot on 15?

JIM FURYK: Well the pin was only four from the right and that was probably four yards in the bunker. It was probably about 30 feet or so. It was a fairly short bunker shot. With not much green to work with. And that bunker is plenty deep. I promise you that. I couldn't see the hole.

Q. What's the story of how you met your wife here? Is there a story?

JIM FURYK: Well she picked me up actually -- -- no, just kidding.

(Laughter.). That's a good eyes though.

JACK NICKLAUS: You're going to pay for that incidentally. You know that, don't you.

JIM FURYK: You might want to ask her.

(Laughter.) No, I was playing a practice round on Wednesday, Wednesday morning. I played the back nine. And I was heading out to Ohio to the Scarlet course to watch the NCAA's, to watch Arizona. And when I got off the golf course I was, there's a bunch of kids behind the green I was signing autographs and kind of joking around and playing with the kids. It was still pretty early in the day like around noon but I was going to call it quits make an early day of it. And I happened to see her standing there. I said hi to her thinking that she was very attractive. And she said hi back. And I, you know, I was just being shy, both of us were being shy, didn't want to say anything, didn't want to introduce. So I walked 10 yards by and I said I should probably go back and talk to her and just say hi. And a friend of hers was there and he kind of introduced us. He invited me to go to dinner with himself and his fiance' and with Tabitha. And so we went to dinner Wednesday night and the whole week through, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday also. So, and that afternoon I was asking her if she knew where the golf course was at Ohio State and she went, she's a Buckeye, so she actually went down with me and we watched the college teams play and then we went back and got ready and met up for dinner later on.

Q. What year was that?

JIM FURYK: That was in '95. How did I do, pretty good?

Q. And you were married when then?

JIM FURYK: We got married here in Columbus on downtown in November of 2000.

Q. NCAA's are there this week at Scarlet.

JIM FURYK: Yeah, the team was out here. I actually, when I teed off one I shook my coach's hand and said hi to some of the guys. They came in last night. They only followed six holes. But it's good luck. They have come to see me play in Hawaii a couple times and I won a tournament, lost in a playoff and won a tournament when they showed up. So I got to fly the team in more often. We had -- oh, I'm 32, I don't know too many of the guys.

Q. They gave up on you after six holes?

JIM FURYK: They had to go practice. They got a tournament to play this week. Coach was cracking the whip, I'm sure. I'm sure they were having a good time hanging out and girl watching and watching the golf tournament. Okay. Thank you very much.

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