Furyk win takes PGA Tour off the hook

The golf gods smiled on the PGA Tour yesterday and even gave it a mulligan with Jim Furyk's one-shot victory over Luke Donald in the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

Furyk overcame an ill-advised PGA Tour policy concerning pro-am play to win the FedEx Cup points race and its $10 million bonus after he was disqualified from the first round of the playoffs. Aided by strong bunker play, Furyk shot a final-round 70 that made the season-long race come down to the last putt on the final hole -- a 2-footer -- just as the PGA Tour was hoping it would and eased the pain he suffered for oversleeping and missing an obligation to play in a pro-am before The Barclays.

It was Furyk's 9-for-9 record in sand-save opportunities in the Tour Championship that enabled him to prevail and earn his third victory of the season. The well-deserved victory also probably wrapped up player-of-the-year honors for the 40-year-veteran in what has turned out to be his finest season on tour.

While TV announcers Johnny Miller and Dan Hicks were singing the praises of the FedEx Cup format and how it had achieved the desired effect, the PGA Tour braintrust was probably breathing a sigh of relief that a fitting champion emerged in the form of the popular Furyk. The only negative for the day was a rain delay and a soggy finish, but PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem was beaming at the trophies presentation to Furyk just the same.

Cries for more fine-tuning of the current format might go unheard because of Furyk's victory. But if someone like Charley Hoffman -- who didn't play in any of the majors this year -- had won the FedEx Cup, the cries would have been loud and justified. For now, the PGA Tour can sleep easier, thinking its FedEx Cup format is on track to achieve greater fan interest.

Whether that notion will hold water when the PGA Tour negotiates its next TV contract in 2012 remains to be seen. But Furyk's victory, for now, will make that less of a pressing issue.