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Jim Furyk becomes Mr. 58 as Al Geiberger, Mr. 59, watches
Just call him "The Original" from now on.
Long known as "Mr. 59" after he became the first player to break 60 in a PGA Tour event, Al Geiberger has carved out a nice little name for himself in the golfing community. He's hardly shy about handing out his business card: a replica scorecard from Round 2 of the 1977 Memphis Classic.
Sunday morning at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Geiberger was on his way out of the clubhouse when he caught wind of something special happening at the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship in Connecticut. A few minutes later, Geiberger stood in the players' locker room and watched on Golf Channel as Jim Furyk's putt dropped in for the first 58 on tour.
RELATED: Jim Furyk shoots PGA Tour record 12-under 58 at Travelers
Arms crossed, Geiberger smiled: "There it is."
Mr. 59 had been dethroned but not defeated.
"What it brings up now is does under par count," Geiberger asked a small group around him. "He was only 12 [under]; I was 13."
True, Furyk's feat came on a par-70 layout while Geiberger's 59 was on a par-72 course.
"But," Geiberger said, "it's still a lot under par. There's only 18 holes out there."
Geiberger was in the Twin Cities as part of Saturday's Greats of Golf exhibition at the 3M Championship. Normally he'd be on a flight back to California on Sunday morning, but he scheduled a corporate event. Had he not, he likely would have missed history.
History!
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 7, 2016
Jim Furyk shoots 58!
It's the lowest round in PGA TOUR history.
Incredible. https://t.co/mzggwHU6tT
"I knew there was a reason I stuck around," he said.
And there's no hard feelings.
"That's a pretty good man to do it," Geiberger said of Furyk, who in 2013 became one of five players on tour to match Geiberger's 59. "He's been right in there so many times over the years."
Now about those business cards ...
"I've gone to 'The Original,' " Geiberger said. "We were already ready. This was long overdue."
This article was written by Brian Stensaas from Star Tribune and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.