Columnist Dean Juipe: Furyk, Duval let victory slip away

Dean Juipe

Monday, Oct. 14, 2002 | 9:18 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

It was a putt of only four feet.

Yet, to Jim Furyk, it had to have the appearance of one that was getting progressively longer.

Standing on the 6th green Sunday at the TPC at Summerlin, Furyk moved to the side first as David Duval snaked in a tricky putt from 25 feet for a birdie and then Jeff Sluman wrapped in another birdie from six feet.

Suddenly, Furyk's putt looked a little tougher.

He got over it, backed off, but then got over it again and calmly rapped it home. For all intents and purposes, I thought to myself, that putt may very well be the one that symbolically wins the tournament.

My reasoning: it showed Furyk, a three-time winner in Las Vegas, was in control. He had met the challenge of Duval and Sluman and, with the birdie at No. 6, his fourth of the day, he was three strokes ahead of each of his playing partners, who, at that time, were tied for second in the Invensys Classic at Las Vegas.

Phil Tataurangi? Few if any who were on the grounds even knew he was playing.

It was Furyk's tournament to win or lose, and -- given his track record -- there wasn't the slightest reason to think he wouldn't come through and eventually claim the $900,000 grand prize. He was 27 under par and had 12 birdieable holes to go.

But then the stagnations set in. A missed putt from eight feet on No. 7; a bogey at No. 8 after hitting into a trap; a missed putt from four feet on No. 9; other misses from 11 and 25 feet to open the back nine ... you get the picture.

The man who "owns" the tournament put it up for sale. And Tataurangi was making a bid.

While it had seemed that Furyk's greatest concern was Duval, who was a stroke ahead entering the final round, and, perhaps, the savvy veteran Sluman, an outsider crept into the mix. Tataurangi was blistering the course with 10 birdies and he left the final threesome behind as if Furyk and the boys were standing still.

It was an unaccustomed slap in the face for both Furyk and Duval, proven winners that they are. Aside from his trio of victories in Las Vegas, Furyk has four other PGA Tour wins, while Duval is a former No. 1 player in the world who has 13 pro wins.

They're accustomed to pressure and, in theory, would feed off each other for inspiration during the final round.

Yet Furyk played his remaining 12 holes in even par (for a 68) and Duval stuttered to a one-under 71. It may well have been the first time Furyk ever surrendered a three-shot lead in the midst of a final round, and it likely was the first time Duval had dropped from contention while playing a closing round that he led at the outset of the day.

The winner, amazingly, was playing five groups ahead of them.

Tataurangi took the lead by himself when the Furyk threesome was playing No. 11, causing more than one member of the latter's gallery to bolt for greener pastures. Yet it was pretty startling: A tract that invites low scores was being receptive for a heretofore nonwinner, while that same course snuffed two of the finest players in the world who each had a piece of the lead during the final round.

Gamblers as well as golf fans couldn't have seen it coming. Tataurangi, part of the "field" bet for those who chose to wager, put one over on the field.