Furyk always happy to be back in LV

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2002 | 9:50 a.m.

Whether it's adjusting to varying golf courses or balancing the needs of his amateur playing partners, no one on the PGA Tour can match the Las Vegas accomplishments of Jim Furyk.

Three times in a span of five years -- 1995, 1998 and 1999 to be exact -- Furyk won the Las Vegas Invitational.

He plays well here in part because he's sociable, and, obviously, adaptable.

"It's nice to come back to a place where you have good memories," Furyk said Monday on the driving range at the TPC at Summerlin. "I've always enjoyed this tournament, and at one time in my life more than half of my tour victories were here."

Furyk, 32, now has seven tour wins, including one at the Memorial this past May.

He has also won more than $2 million this season and ranks No. 15 on the PGA money list.

His '95 win in Las Vegas was his first as a tour pro, and set him on a path that has led to him being regarded as one of the finest players in the world.

"I can win this week," he said, with the start of the Invensys Classic at Las Vegas scheduled for Wednesday at three local courses. "I've got a couple of things I need to work on, but I'm playing pretty well."

While Furyk was polishing his game at Summerlin, he said he would play a practice round at the other two tournament courses -- the TPC at the Canyons and Southern Highlands -- by the end of today.

"I've probably played 30 rounds on this course, so I can come out here and more or less play blind," he said, referring to the tournament's home course. "The other two are almost completely different and they give the tournament a changed look.

"Those courses are nothing like this one."

Diplomatically, Furyk wouldn't add his name to the list of pros who have downgraded the Canyons and Southern Highland layouts over the years. "Let's just say I like the Summerlin course the best of the three," he said.

His real preference, however, would have meant keeping the annual tournament on the courses where it was once played, just off the Strip.

"I liked playing the Strip courses a lot," Furyk said, referring to the Las Vegas Country Club, the Sahara/Hilton and the since departed Desert Inn. "They were all tight, short and you had to keep the ball in play.

"But if you could do those things, there were a lot of birdie opportunities."

One constant for the tournament through the years has been the participation of amateurs and its five-day format. Joining the 144 pros in Las Vegas this week will be 432 amateurs, all of whom will play through the third round.

Furyk doesn't object to the format or find it a nuisance.

"If you don't like it, you don't have to play here and you don't have to complain," he said. "What I've found is that that amateurs can be fun and that you just have to be patient.

"I'd say 99 out of 100 times the amateurs are going to be real nice and they're going to try and stay out of the pro's way, because they know the pro's trying to make a living.

"I've never had a problem, although I know you can get an overzealous amateur who can be a bit of a headache -- that one guy out of 100."

Furyk said a greater concern is the clock.

"The hardest part for me in this tournament is the length of the rounds and trying to keep your focus," he said. "Sometimes you'll be waiting so long to tee off that you end up chatting or looking off at the mountains.

"Your mind can wander. And when that happens, it's like you're asleep and it leads to mental errors."

But, as his record indicates, neither mental nor physical errors routinely beset Furyk in Las Vegas. This is where he plays his best, and when he's at his best he's very tough to beat.