Furyk tees off with Tiger at Presidents Cup

GAINESVILLE (Virginia): Jim Furyk teed off alongside Tiger Woods in a four-ball match here Friday at the Presidents Cup, showing no sign of the rib injury that required day-long treatment here on Thursday.

Woods, sporting blond streaks in his dark hair this week, would have been forced into a singles match against Australian Stuart Appleby had Furyk been unable to start the last of six four-ball matches at the biennial team event. Woods, 0-6 all-time in Presidents Cup four-ball matches, and Furyk were facing Appleby and fellow Aussie Mark Hensby as the Internationals tried to improve upon their 3 1/2-2 1/2 edge after the opening day’s foursomes session.

Should Furyk be forced to drop out during the match, Woods must continue 1-against-2. Considering Woods’ 10 major titles and 3-0 singles record in the Cup against his winless four-ball futility, that might not be a bad thing. “If anybody in the world can play two guys, it’s Tiger,” said Internationals captain Gary Player of South Africa.

Player suggested having a designated back-up player serving as a fill-in for such situations to prevent such uncertainty. “It’s a good idea for future Presidents Cups to have a reserve ready to play,” Player said. “The people want to see the match played as scheduled.” Woods is 5-10-1 in Ryder Cup pairings and 5-8 in Presidents Cup pairings, having played alongside 14 different partners in US pairs matches. afp

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