Is it the turn of the nice guys?

Triumph: Jim Furyk poses with his trophy after winning the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City. Picture: AFP

I'm a nice guy. This can be a problem.

For example girls say they "just want a nice guy." Meanwhile, many girls just want to tame a bad boy.

So I love it when nice guys win. And I loved it when Jim Furyk won at the Nedbank Golf Challenge yesterday. Furyk became known as Gentleman Jim after he disqualified himself here in 2001 for what seemed something very trivial, cleaning and placing his ball twice (allowed on the US PGA Tour) in the same spot instead of just once (the rule on the European Tour and here in 2001).

The infringement didn't give him any advantage to speak of, and he only realised his mistake once he had signed his card. Instead of a penalty he had to be disqualified. “Rules are rules,” he said at the time. Unlike most, Furyk did not pack his bags and leave but instead played on as a marker in the tournament to ensure that his fellow-competitors would not be compromised by his absence.

Photo: SuperSport

I made an oft-travelled pilgrimage to Sun City on Sunday to follow the golf. I had picked Furyk as my man to win on Friday, and after following the early pairing of Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia for the first nine holes and a quick lunch, I then fell back to follow the Furyk and Donald two-ball. It certainly was up-and-down with Furyk bogeying twice - no more down than when he bogeyed the 18th - a putt that would have given him an outright victory. By this time I had retired to the public hospitality tent. The 18th green was packed, and I was exceptionally out of it after the heat of the day.

The four-way play-off was about as riveting as you get in golf. I was over the moon for Furyk when he chipped in to win. A victory for nice guys and gentleman.


The eighth green at the Gary Player country club - rated by Ernie Els as one of the finest holes in golf

New headlines:

Furyk holds nerve to win
'Gentleman Jim' finally wins at Sun City
Furyk wins dramatic playoff
‘Gentleman Jim’ gets his reward
Furyk has "good reason" to return

Watch the video of Jim Furyk's final round - and the swing commentator David Ferherty once likened to "an octopus falling out of a tree" - click play to begin streaming (video courtesy of the Nedbank Golf Challenge website):



Postscript: IITQ must have been in many TV shots on Sunday. He was right there next to Furyk during the drama of the 14th when Gentleman Jim's ball got buried in the bush. Did you see him?