Sleepy Golfer Disqualified from PGA Tournament

"I'm kicking myself," says Furyk

Golfer Jim Furyk found a new kind of hazard to trip him up: oversleeping.

Furyk woke up in a panic Wednesday seven minutes before he was supposed to tee off on the 11th hole at The Barclays, a PGA pro-am in Paramus, N.J. He dashed out of his hotel room, but couldn't make it on time and was disqualified from the first of four FedEx Cup playoff events.

"I'm kicking myself," said Furyk, who has won twice on the tour this year. "I have a way of climbing into situations that are all my fault."

Furyk was in such a rush that he did not put on a belt or socks, and he still had not tied his shoes. The PGA Tour adopted its policy on pro-ams in 2004 after some players began skipping the Wednesday events for suspect reasons. Now, players automatically are disqualified from the tournament if they miss the pro-am except for injury or family emergency.

Retief Goosen was disqualified from the Nissan Open in 2005 when he overslept.

Slugger White, the TOUR's Vice President of Rules and Competition, said tournament officials were looking for Furyk a half-hour before his tee time. White was with Furyk's caddie, Mike "Fluff" Cowan, who said he tried to call Furyk but that the phone would not ring. White also tried to contact Furyk.

"When things like that happen, sometimes you think the worst ... worried some stuff happened on the road," White said. "Thank goodness that wasn't what it was. We kept looking and kept trying to call."

PGA Tour policy is that any player missing a pro-am time except for injury or family emergency is ineligible to play in that week's tournament. The rule was instituted in 2004.

"It is unfortunate," White said. "Knowing Jim as I do and we all do, he handled it extremely professionally and put all of the blame on himself. ... He is a fan favorite and everybody likes him. He is a really good guy, but my hands are tied.

"I am sure he will recover quite nicely next week and jump right in there again."

Wednesday's ruling does not eliminate Furyk from the Playoffs, but it does eliminate an opportunity to solidify his spot going into the next event, the Deutsche Bank Championship held next week at TPC Boston.

"I played my heart out all year," Furyk said. "I've got no one to blame but myself."

 Selected Reading: Fanhouse, PGA Tour, The Associated Press.

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