Jim Furyk, Boston golf fans will recall, does not stand on ceremony when it comes to changing golf clubs, especially putters. He’s even been known to pay for new sticks rather than wait for his supplier, Callaway, to bring him the requisite gear.
Unhappy with his putting at last month’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, the 16-time PGA tour winner walked into an Edwin Watts Golf store in Orlando and purchased a new Odyssey Versa #1 Wide flat stick. As he was finishing up his third-round 3-under 69 Saturday to get to within two strokes of Texas Open leader Billy Horschel heading into Sunday’s finale, NBC broadcasters reminded viewers that Furyk made a similar buy almost three years ago.
Furyk hit the $10 million Fed Ex Cup champion's jackpot in 2010 after ditching the putter he brought to the Deutsche Bank Championship and replacing it with a used $39 bat from local Boston-area retailer Joe & Leigh's Discount Golf Pro Shop.
The old chipped stick took on a life of its own but, given Furyk's proclivity for switching putters in and out, there have been a number of wands in his hands since that antiquated Yes! Sophia made its way into his bag at TPC Boston in September 2010.
Fast forward to the 2013 Texas Open and Furyk was maneuvering yet another store-bought putter. He was unsatisfied with his work on the greens at Bay Hill, where he finished T65, and yanked his putter out of play in favor of one he picked up at Edwin Watts.
After looking over a number of models, Furyk chose the only one in the shop that sported a straight grip. The wrapped hilts on all the others, according to the NBC yakkers, were crooked, making the club faces look either closed or open.
Furyk, who told reporters after getting his week-long total to 8-under that he was in the top two spots “in about every putting stat possible,” is one of many golfers changing to Odyssey Versa models. In addition to Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, and a few others, Keegan Bradley recently exchanged his trusty Odyssey Sabertooth belly putter for the black-white-black-striped Versa bat, which differed from his usual wand only in the coloring.
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