Jim Furyk has opted for surgery on his injured left wrist, a decision that is expected to keep the veteran sidelined for the next three months.
Furyk has not played since he withdrew from the opening round of the BMW Championship in September because of a bone contusion in his wrist. While the injury kept him out of the Tour Championship and Presidents Cup, Furyk remained hopeful he would return to action at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions after snapping a lengthy victory drought last spring.
But Furyk was absent last month in Maui, and he next set his sights on a return at next week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. According to a release Monday from Furyk’s management company, the latest setback is expected to keep the 45-year-old sidelined well into the spring.
“While I am disappointed that the wrist has not yet healed sufficiently for me to return to play, I am confident that the surgery at this point is the best course of action, and will get me back in the shortest possible time,” Furyk said in a statement from the Legacy Agency. “This has been frustrating for me to this point, but I am focusing on an aggressive rehabilitation program and having a strong year once I am sufficiently healed.”
The latest timeline means that Furyk will likely miss the Masters for just the second time since 1996. His only other absence from Augusta National in that time came in 2004, when he was also sidelined with an injury on the same wrist.
Furyk reached as high as No. 3 in the world rankings last summer, but he has now dropped to No. 9 and is expected to slip further as he remains out of action.
