Jim Furyk won the US PGA Tour Championship on Sunday and claimed the $10 million bonus as the winner of the FedEx Cup playoff series.
With the FedEx Cup, and its rich prize, on the line at the final hole, Furyk nearly holed out from a bunker then drained his three-footer for par to complete a one-shot victory over England’s Luke Donald.
Furyk carded an even-par 70 at rainy East Lake Country Club for eight-under 272.
Donald, who chipped in for birdie at 17, also carded a 70 for 273.
The Englishman was watching in the scoring trailer and waiting for a possible playoff as Furyk fired out of the bunker at the last.
Furyk’s triumph was worth $1.35 million for the tournament victory, along with the $10 million playoff prize.
“There was a lot riding on my round today, a lot riding down the stretch in some terrible weather, and I was able to - although it didn’t look pretty the last three - I was able to get the job done and win again,” Furyk said.
The fourth edition of the FedEx Cup produced the most dramatic finish to date in the playoff series.
With the round winding down, five players still had a chance to claim the bonus - including unexpected Nick Watney who had come in ranked 28th in the standings among the 30 who qualified for the finale.
“To be honest with you, coming up 18 I assumed I was playing for the FedExCup, but I wasn’t 100 per cent sure,” Furyk said. “I didn’t know until I hit my second shot on 17 that Luke Donald finished at seven (under), either.
“That definitely put a lot of heat on me.”
Furyk had stretched his lead to three shots as he birdied 15 and England’s Paul Casey bogeyed 17.
But Furyk promptly gave shots back at 16 and 17 to see his lead dwindle.
He held on, however, to become the first three-time winner on the US tour this year - an accomplishment that could be enough to garner Player of the Year honors.
“Three wins is very, very special to me,” Furyk said. “I’ve always put a big emphasis on winning golf tournaments. I was very disappointed in ‘08 and ‘09 not to win ... To go out and turn that around and get three Ws this year is pretty special, and then to top it off here at the right time at the Tour Championship ...”
It was a more than satisfying end to a roller-coaster playoff series for Furyk.
Furyk was ranked third going into the first playoff event, The Barclays. But Furyk missed his pre-tournament pro-am tee time when his alarm failed to go off and he was disqualified.
By the time he arrived at the Tour Championship he was 11th in the standings, and he became the first player from outside the top 10 going into the finale to win the series crown.
Matt Kuchar, who came in ranked number one in the standings, carded a final-round 71 that left him tied for 25th. Even he, however, still had a chance to win the FedEx Cup on Sunday.
In fact, Kuchar finished second on the playoff series to pocket a three million-dollar bonus. Donald moved up to third in the standings to claim two million dollars.
South Africa’s Retief Goosen was also in contention until a bogey at 17. He carded a 71 for third place in the tournament on 274.
Furyk joined Tiger Woods as the only FedEx Cup champions to miss the first playoff event - Woods in 2007 because he elected to skip it and Furyk because of his DQ.
Woods wasn’t on hand to battle for the title or the bonus this year. The world number one, who has endured a difficult year on and off the course, failed to qualify for the Tour Championship.
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