Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Furyk: LVI golfers must shoot 25-under

Wednesday, Sept. 1, 1999 | 9:27 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand's golf notebook appears Wednesday. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. Reach him at bh@lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.

Jim Furyk knows that if he is to successfully defend his Las Vegas Invitational title next month, he has to shoot about 25 under par in the five-day tournament.

He said he just can't allow himself to think that going into the tournament.

Furyk, the only two-time winner of the LVI, will be back to defend his title Oct. 13-17 at the TPC at Summerlin, the Las Vegas Country Club and the Desert Inn Golf Club.

"I shot 28 (under par) the first time I won it (in 1995) and 25 under last year," Furyk said. "If you think about that on Wednesday, it kind of blows your mind because you think, 'I've got to shoot 5 or 6 under every day for five days' -- that's a feat in itself.

"If you think of it that way on Wednesday, you'll probably never do it. If you just go out there and stay patient and not worry about it, you might have a chance."

To this day, Furyk still shakes his head when he thinks about the score it takes to win in Las Vegas.

"It's not that I'm amazed that I can do it, it's just amazing that ... 25 under is a lot -- that's a lot under par," he said. "I think more people think of my game as playing solidly in the U.S. Open, when even par is a good score. People think of my game as that I can grind it out and play on a real good, hard golf course and hit the ball straight and keep it in play.

"I don't think many people think of me in the style of going out there and shooting 66 every day and firing numbers like that. It's not that I surprised myself, it's just that it doesn't matter who does it, it's kind of amazing."

Furyk believes his success in Las Vegas stems from the fact that he can keep the ball in play -- and, occasionally, hit the ball a long way.

"(The LVI) is known for suiting a guy who can really move it a long way," he said. "If you look at the list of champions, since they've been at Summerlin, a lot of those guys are real long: Tiger Woods, Davis Love, Bill Glasson."

Having two wins and a fifth place (as a rookie in 1994) in the LVI will bolster Furyk's confidence when he returns to Las Vegas in October.

"I like coming here, I like playing here," Furyk said. "I came here and I played real well in my rookie year; I was tied for the lead going into the last day and I finished fifth. I think you keep that memory so I know that when I come here, if I'm playing well, I can produce a score that can win the tournament."

* LVI ADDITIONS: About a dozen players on Monday officially committed to play in this year's Las Vegas Invitational, including former UNLV All-American Chris Riley and former U.S. Open champion Steve Jones.

Also announcing their intentions to play in the $2.5 million tournament were Rich Beem, winner of the Kemper Open in May; Glen Day, who won the MCI Classic in April; David Frost; Mike Reid; Bishop Gorman High product Tommy Armour III; Scott Verplank; Mark Calcavecchia; and Brandel Chamblee.

* LPGA TEAM NAMED: Karrie Webb, Dottie Pepper and Juli Inkster will represent the LPGA Tour in the 1999 Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge Dec. 18-19 at Reflection Bay Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas.

The teams for the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour will be announced at a later date. ABC Sports will televise the event both days.

* LVI VOLUNTEERS: The Las Vegas Invitational is seeking volunteers to assist in a variety of areas, including tournament scoring, with this year's event. Call Michele at 242-3008 for more information.