Woods interviews steal Furyk's spotlight

Jim Furyk closed with a 2-under-par 69 to earn a one-shot victory over K.J. Choi yesterday in the Transitions Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla., ending his longest stretch without a win since he first joined the PGA Tour.

But his first victory since the 2007 Canadian Open was overshadowed by one-on-one interviews of Tiger Woods by ESPN and the Golf Channel, the first of their kind since revelations of his infidelities surfaced last November. Apparently Team Tiger deemed it was better to deflate some of the pressure of future public interviews by once again falling back on a more controlled situation. It probably worked to some degree, but the interviews certainly won't put an end to future questioning.

Furyk's struggles down the stretch in earning his 14th PGA Tour victory made things interesting. On an entertainment scale of 1 to 5, Oldgolfdawg would throw the Transitions Championship 3 1/2 dog biscuits. The shaky finish included Furyk hitting what he called a half-shank from the trees on the final hole that nearly took out NBC sports reporter Roger Maltbie. But it didn't matter.

"It all worked out in the end," said Furyk, who finished at 13-under 271 and moved up to No. 6 in the world rankings. Afterward, he wasn't even upset about being upstaged by the Woods interviews.

“I think it’s good for him to get his face out there and have people see him,” Furyk said. “They are going to make their judgments, but I think it allows him to kind of move on and get focused for the next thing.”

Choi, who started three shots out of the lead, was tied with Furyk through seven holes until a two-shot swing on the par-3 eighth. Choi, who closed with a 67, never got any closer until the final hole. But his runner-up finish should be enough to move him to No. 47 in the world and give him a good chance to get into the Masters.

The PGA Tour has now played 13 events in the 2010 season without having a multiple winner. Other winners this season include Geoff Ogilvy, Ryan Palmer, Bill Haas, Ben Crane, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Ian Poulter, Cameron Beckman, Hunter Mahan, Camilo Villegas, Derek Lamely and Ernie Els.

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this post.