THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY MERCEDES-BENZ AND MICHELOB

October 30, 1997

Jim Furyk

JIM FURYK: -- 5-under.

JIM FURYK: All right. Overall I guess I'm happy to be leading after the first round, good spot. I felt real comfortable with my game today, played real solid, kept the ball in play. Hit a lot of fairways, quite a few greens. Overall felt comfortable today. So it was a good day. Have to try to keep it up and keep playing well the next three.

JIM FURYK: It's not bothering me at all now. Didn't bother me in Las Vegas last week. I think both my wrist and my thumb were a little sore after the Ryder Cup. I had practiced a lot. Really tried to get my game in shape for that week. After a real long season, and realistically not only have I played a lot this year, but I think I've practiced harder this year and worked harder on my game. I think after a long year, it took its toll. That week, I played golf Friday before the Anheuser-Busch, I played in pain. More than anything, I just wanted to have it checked out. I made a doctor's appointment for Monday morning and started talking to some doctors about it. I was more scared than anything. If I would have played the Anheuser-Busch, I would have played in a lot of pain and probably wouldn't have been a smart idea. Had some x-rays taken, an MRI. Basically, the doctor said what I just did, that it's been a long year, that it took its toll. I hurt my thumb in college, and reinjured it last year. I had to skip a few weeks off the tour. Basically I didn't take care of it. After I went through my rehab and got it feeling well again, had some nice people in Jacksonville help me out and get me back on the tour. Once I got ready, I just kind of, like everyone else, left it alone, didn't keep rehabbing it, working on it. That's why it got sore again. I have to keep strengthening it, working on it, not get lazy in the off-season, I've got to keep dealing with it.

JIM FURYK: Jesper hits a few things different every day I'm sure than the rest of us (laughter).

JIM FURYK: No. I don't try to. I think every week and every day, you might be -- might feel a little different. Your swing might feel slightly different. I think you might work on -- one week you might be working -- one week you might be working on your setup, your take away, something in your stance or your grip. I think every week you maybe find something that maybe isn't real solid that you need to work on, you key in on that, that's what gets you through the week. I don't really think -- I never think that my swing changes. I always think -- everyone has their own thoughts and own ways to look at things. I really don't think I -- for example, if you go out and you play your best round of golf today, have you ever gone out the next day and not played so well? In my opinion, I don't think you lost anything in your swing or your swing changed. I always try to look for something else, whether I work my way into bad habits off the setup, slowly work my way into a bad habit, had a different mental approach, did something differently that day that I played more poorly than I did when I played good. I look for something else. I normally look at things before I hit a shot. Poor setups cause poor swings. I don't think anyone out here is going to lose their swing in a week or a day. They work themselves into bad habits and those cause bad swings.

JIM FURYK: Well, it's always nice to got off to a good, solid start. Hit a good drive down the middle, 6-iron, about 25, 30 feet left of the pin. Hit a good putt. I'm trying to knock it in, hit a good putt. You don't expect to make a lot of those. They're nice when they go in. Really, though, there's no letdown. There's 17 more holes to play out here. They're all very difficult. So one birdie out here isn't going to do too much. You know, it's nice to start out with a birdie, but like I said, there's still a lot of holes to play.

JIM FURYK: Well, I wouldn't say 20-under is going to win; 5-under times four. I think they could always tuck some pins and hide them, make the course more difficult if they wanted to. They can make this course almost impossible in certain areas. You know, that's up to the staff, eventually how they want to set it up, and also up to the weather. If the wind gets blowing or we get some nasty weather in here, the scores aren't going to be very low. I was surprised, I think everyone was surprised that the scores were low.

JIM FURYK: Another quick one. I've been buzzing through here (laughter).

JIM FURYK: Birdied No. 5. I hit driver, 3-wood, the right bunker. Blasted out to about three feet. Made that for birdie. I birdied 7. I hit driver and an 8-iron to about three feet, made that for birdie. Birdied 9. I hit driver, 3-wood, front left bunker, blasted out three feet, made that. 10, hit driver and a 3-iron about 25 feet.

JIM FURYK: 15, 15? Driver and a 9-iron, about 20 feet. 18, I hit driver, 4-wood, about 15 feet.

JIM FURYK: Thank you.