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PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Jim Furyk might not win another major championship in his career.
It is possible yesterday’s close call at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, where he took a one-shot lead into the final round and lost to Jason Dufner by two, might be his last best shot at adding a second career major to the 2003 U.S. Open he won.
If that is the case, that does not make Furyk any less admirable a player, because the fact that at age 43 — and a shorter hitter than most of the young, big bombers in the game now — he continues to put himself in position is Hall of Fame stuff.
Parts of the last two years have been tough on Furyk, who always has been known as a reliable closer but lost four leads in 2012. The lowlight was losing the final-round lead at the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Club, where he made a mess of the par-5 16th hole with a snap-hooked tee shot into the trees.
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: OAK HILL HOLE-BY-HOLE
Furyk also lost leads at the WGC-Bridgestone at Firestone, the Tampa Bay Classic — where he lost in a playoff — and the McGladrey Classic, where he finished third.
Yesterday was not Olympic Club, Firestone or any of those other bad memories. Furyk did not lose the 95th PGA Championship yesterday. Dufner won it.
“I’m disappointed that I didn’t win the golf tournament, because I really felt like I played well enough to do so,’’ Furyk said. “But I also have a lot of respect for Jason and the way he played. I don’t know if it makes anything easy or less easy, but I don’t look at it as I lost the golf tournament. I look at it as I got beat by somebody that played better.
“Last year, I felt like I lost the tournament,’’ he said, referring to the U.S. Open. “I felt like it was my tournament to win, and I wasn’t able to do it. [Yesterday], I didn’t beat myself, I don’t think. I felt like I got beat by Jason.’’
Furyk said yesterday he has “no regrets,’’ and he shouldn’t have any.
Looking back at this tournament, the shots Furyk was unable to pull off won’t be remembered. What will be are the have-to-have-it putts he made on the back nine to keep the pressure on Dufner. First came a stout 8-foot par-save putt on 15 to keep him within two shots. Then came a crucial 12-foot birdie putt on 16 with Dufner within kick-in birdie range, threatening to take a three-shot lead with two holes to play.
Those putts defined Furyk’s tournament and Furyk as a player, not yesterday’s result.
“I played my heart out,’’ Furyk said. “I played a very, very solid tournament. If I could go back, I would love to make par on 17 and 18 (he bogeyed both) and put some heat on him and I wasn’t able to do that. That’s a little bit of a thorn in my side. But he played well. He was able to shoot 68. I was 1-‑under par with two to play. With the lead it was a good, solid round, but I got beat by a guy that played better.’’
Furyk became the fourth 54-hole leader in a major this year unable to close and the seventh in the past eight majors. He was playing in his 500th PGA Tour tournament this week and had converted nine of 21 third-round leads into wins, including that 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields.
This one hurts because he sniffed opportunity, and because he surely feels the window of opportunity slowly closing on him.
“It’s hard to talk yourself into the fact that it is [just an ordinary] golf tournament,’’ he said. “I realize it’s a major and we were judged by how many tournaments we win [and] the best players are judged by how many major championships they win. You get four pops a year. This golf course set up very well for my game. I played pretty well the last time here. I came here on a roll playing pretty well. I played my heart out. No regrets over it.’’