DUBLIN, Ohio – Golf is child’s play on a professional level.
A look at the world rankings will show you that, among the top 20 ranked players, only three reached their 40th birthday: the 44 year old Tiger Woods, who ranked 14th, the 40 year old Adam Scott, who is in ninth place and the 42-year-old Matt Kuchar, who finished 20th.
The rising stars in golf have not yet reached the age of 30 or have barely eclipsed that threshold: the number 1 classified Rory McIlroy is 31, the number 2 Jon Rahm is 25 years old, the number 3 Justin Thomas is 27 years old, the number 7 Bryson DeChambeau is 26 years old, No. 13 Collin Morikawa is 23 and has placed himself in front of Woods.
Get the picture.
It’s a no-brainer.
“It is,” agreed Jim Furyk, 50, after shooting a 4-under 68 in Friday’s second round of Memorial to enter the weekend tied for eighth, five shots from the lead.
Furyk, the captain of the 2018 Ryder Cup, is linked to 53-year-old and close friend Steve Stricker, who is the current Ryder Cup captain in the United States. Stricker, who won the Memorial in 2011, shot a 5-under 67 on Friday and is also 4-under for the week.
Vijay Singh, who is 57 years old and won the Memorial in 1997, is 1-over on par and has made the cut. Ernie Els, 50, was even au pair on Friday, but missed the cut after shooting a second round 77.
Make no mistake: Muirfield Village is a large baseball field. They are not Colonial or Harbor Town or Innisbrook, which are parks for singles.
Add to this: this week’s conditions are confined to the rough not having been cut in more than a week and the greens, which will be torn to be replaced on Sunday as the final round is taking place, starting to show a brighter shine. of Mr. Clean’s bald head.
Yet here there are 50 times Furyk and Stricker in the mix with 36 holes to play.
“It’s kind of fun to see old people go out there and play well,” Furyk told The Post after his second round, standing next to his 72-year-old caddy, Mike “Fluff” Cowan.
Furyk and Stricker remain in contention despite the fact that they hit the ball about 50 yards lower than DeChambeau, McIlroy, Johnson, Brooks Koepka et al.
“When I was 39, a writer asked me: ‘Are you afraid that the game will pass in front of you with all these kids coming out hitting further and further?’ ” Remember Furyk. “I said, ‘Eventually it will happen. It is not today It is not tomorrow It is not next year. But eventually it will come. ” ‘
Furyk and Stricker are finally moving away, and it’s nice to see it.
“As you get older, you find other ways to compete and improve a lot in some other areas or you won’t be able to hit far enough to compete,” said Furyk. “There are still some courses here that are really difficult for me to compete and give up a lot of yardage for the kids.
“A golf course like this puts me in trouble. It has stressed me out in recent years. For me, entering these greens with 6-iron when someone else who enters with 9-iron is a significant difference. The way it’s set up right now and the way it sounds, I’m still capable, but I’m kinda [better off at] Fort Worth and Innisbrook and Harbor Town.
“Those are the ones who are in my alley.”
Can Furyk do what he did at Memorial this weekend, which is victory?
“If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t play,” said Furyk. “[Saturday] it will be a matter of enabling me to run to that Sunday. ”
The way the path is hardening, another two 68, which would take Furyk to 12 below, could do the trick.
“I imagine this place if it turns white or turns purple when Sunday afternoon comes,” said Furyk. “I have made many good shots out there [Friday] and actually I saw some putts coming in, which was fun. It’s nice to go on the weekend in good shape. I’m happy. ”
Especially at 50 years old.
.
