Not long off captaincy duty at the 2024 Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal, Jim Furyk is back in the hotseat but this time as tournament host for the PGA Champions Tour’s Constellation Furyk and Friends at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida.
Darren Clarke’s recent form on the seniors circuit has been impressive but the two-time Champions Tour winner hasn’t gotten in the winner’s circle since his victory at the Senior Open back in 2022. But he kept that recent rich vein of form going with a three-under opening round that could easily have been lower were it not for a bogey on the 18th.
The Dungannon man birdied two of the first five holes but had to wait until the 12th for his next and had given a shot back with bogey on 10. But having rediscovered his birdie touch, he immediately added another on 13 and one last on on 17, before finding the sand on 18 and going bunker to bunker and ending up with a second bogey of the day.
HIs three-under round leaves him tied for 16th, but just three off the lead held by the trio of Bob Estes, Joe Durant and Freddie Jacobson.
In a field without Steve Stricker, Stephen Ames, Richard Green, Padraig Harrington and Bernhard Langer, and with current Schwab Cup leader Ernie Els opening with a one-under 71, the door is ajar and though there are 15 players ahead of him, Clarke will fancy his chances of putting himself in the tournament shakeup on Sunday evening.
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