RBC Heritage Recap: No Joke, It's Finally Furyk

OK, OK, let's get all the jokes out of the way right at the beginning: Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. ... Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Which brings us to Jim Furyk.

Furyk finally planted himself in the winner's circle on Sunday, nearly five years, 31 top-10s and seven runner-up showings after his last victory. He shot an 8-under 63 in the fourth round of the RBC Heritage, then defeated Kevin Kisner with a birdie on the second playoff hole.

OK, one more joke: The 5-Hour Energy drink finally worked.

Furyk has had a Hall of Fame-caliber career but, despite being ranked 10th in the world at age 44, had developed a reputation as -- how to put this gently? -- the anti-Mariano Rivera. How to put this not gently? He was a choker.

Furyk had been 0-for-9 with a 54-hole lead since winning the 2010 Tour Championship, and the $10 million that came with it for capturing the FedEx Cup. Some of his blown leads came in agonizing fashion, and they were kind of hard to watch. Golf being a gentlemanly game, it's always nicer to see someone win a tournament rather than someone kick it away (unless, of course, the guy who kicks it away is on someone else's team).

While Furyk did not begin Sunday in first place -- he was tied for fifth, four strokes behind overnight leader Troy Merritt -- he gained the lead with a front-nine 30 and secured the clubhouse lead at 18-under 266. He then watched Kisner sink a seven-footer for birdie on 18 to tie, and probably more people than not thought: Uh-oh, here we go again.

And if you didn't feel that way then, maybe you did after they played 18 again moments later. Kisner poured in a long birdie putt, forcing Furyk to sink another seven-footer to continue. He made it. Phew!

Furyk then buried a 12-footer for another birdie and victory on the next playoff hole, this time after Kisner's longer try slid by. The veteran dropped his putter, pumped his fists, gritted his teeth and let out a roar, much like a defensive lineman right after blindsiding a quarterback into the turf.

"That was four and a half years of frustration in that celebration," Furyk told reporters at Harbour Town.

Once upon a time, Furyk had been pretty good with a 54-hole lead, winning 9-of-17 times before his 0-fer began. That's not Tiger Woods territory, but you don't have to look far to see how often that lead holds up. After Furyk lost the third-round lead for a ninth straight time, at Pebble Beach in February, these were the numbers going back two years, according to GolfChannel.com: Golfers with a one-shot lead, five wins in 16 tries; with a two-shot lead, four wins in 12 tries; and with a three-shot lead, only three wins in seven tries.

All that said, you had to wonder whether age was getting the best of Furyk, even though he was among the best conditioned golfers on tour. He had won 16 times, including the 2003 U.S. Open. He also has 29 runners-up.

"I've let so many slide by," Furyk said. "I really kind of dug deep today, and I got it done."

(OK, OK, one more, and we promise this is the last one: Jim Furyk hates Sundays more than the town drunk. H/T Yahoo's Scott Pianowski)

(This really is the last one: Jim Furyk hates Sundays more than the paper boy. Again, H/T Pianowski.)

MONDAY TAKEAWAY

Kevin Kisner

A product of the University of Georgia golf factory, Kisner hasn't enjoyed the success of some of his former college teammates. This was his best finish in 90 PGA Tour events, bettering his T4 at the McGladrey Classic last October. Outside of those two events, Kisner has made only 7-of-13 cuts this season with one top-25. Which is a way of saying, if you are thinking about jumping on Kisner, maybe think about it some more.

Troy Merritt

Merritt is now 0-for-1 with a 54-hole lead. The native Iowan wound up solo third for his second-best career finish, after last year's runner-up in Memphis. Interestingly, Merritt now has two top-6s in his last four starts. So is he getting better, or is this an aberration? Two top finishes in such a short span surely rate higher than Kisner's being months apart. But Merritt also has sandwiched those two events with a solo 71 and an MC. So proceed at your own risk.

Branden Grace

The 26-year-old South African tied for seventh, surprisingly giving him his first top-10 ever on the PGA Tour. Now, that's only 35 events, but we're talking a golfer in the top 50 in the world with six wins on the European Tour. Grace withdrew Monday from this week's Zurich Classic, but he is scheduled to play next week at the WGC-Match Play. The last two years he has returned for the Memorial. He has yet to qualify for the U.S. Open, but most likely will be in the field. If he's on your team, good going at Harbour Town. If he's not, he's got a bunch of U.S. starts ahead.

Bo Van Pelt

After three straight years playing in the Tour Championship (2010-12), the last three years have seen Van Pelt's game plummet. He tied for ninth at the RBC, his first top-10 of the season and only seventh made cut in 14 tries. He had only one top-10 each in 2013 and 2014, so this may be it for 2015 for the soon-to-be 40-year-old Van Pelt.

Jordan Spieth

Spieth was lauded, as he should be, for keeping his commitment to the RBC after a whirlwind post-Masters week. And he impressively tied for 11th, with a second-round 62. Spieth will take a week off before playing two weeks in a row at the WGC-Match Play and The Players Championship. At 21 years old, all this golf should not be an issue.

Brandt Snedeker

After Snedeker won at Pebble in February (See: Furyk, blown lead), he went into a bit of funk, which is somewhat understandable after a victory. He got back on track a bit, tying for 13th at Bay Hill. But Snedeker followed that up with an MC at the Masters and now a T26 at Harbour Town. So it's getting increasingly hard to figure this guy out. He's skipping New Orleans before the Match Play and Players. We'll know more after that.

Graeme McDowell

McDowell shared the first-round RBC lead, then steadily played himself out of the tournament, ending in a tie for 26th with Snedeker and others. He's now slipped outside of the top 30 in the world, and with good reason: He doesn't contend very often anymore. He has one top-10 on the PGA Tour this season, and that was back in November at the WGC-HSBC Champions, an event with more of a Euro feel than a U.S. feel. McDowell's last win was at Harbour Town in 2013. He's got a reputation for grittiness, but now that may be limited to the Ryder Cup.

Robert Streb

By February, Streb had won the McGladrey Classic, one of five top-5s he amassed in the early going. Then he took three weeks off for the birth of his daughter and, not to upset the darling baby, but dear ol' dad has not been the same since. Streb has made only 3-of-7 cuts, and his T44 at Harbour Town was his best showing in the stretch. Streb is teeing it up this week at the Zurich, but the clock may already have struck 12 for him, and his owners. If you can still trade him, give it a go.

Webb Simpson

Here's another golfer with a reputation much better than his current game. Simpson is dangerously close to falling out of the top 50 in the world, after being as high as fifth following his win at 2012 U.S. Open, which seems a lot longer than three years ago. He tied for 51st at the RBC, where two years ago he lost in a playoff to McDowell. Simpson has only one win in the nearly three years since his major, at the less-than-marquee 2013 Shriners (sorry, Shriners).

Seung-Yul Noh

The 23-year-old Korean this week returns to New Orleans, site of his breakthrough victory last year. It may be too soon to determine if that was an aberration, but Noh has just one top-10 since, including none in 12 starts this year. He missed the RBC cut.