Furyk's chances at Augusta vary with the weather

The Masters Tournament weather forecast each year is of great interest to Jim Furyk.

Furyk’s length off the tee is average, so he welcomes any help he can get from Mother Nature when he has to take on the 7,435-yard Augusta National Golf Club these days.

What he’s looking for is “firm and fast” on the fairways and “No. 1 (hole) into the wind,” said Furyk, who notes players get added roll on the fairways under those conditions.

Furyk knows if the wind is into the golfers on No. 1, it will be against them on the back-nine par-5s, making it less likely for long hitters to get home in two shots. Shorter hitters like himself seldom can reach those par-5s in two shots anyway.

“At my length, I need that golf course to play firm and fast to shorten it up a little bit. It also makes it play more difficult, but it’s a little bit of an equalizer,” he said. “The worst thing is if No. 1 is downwind and it’s raining for three or four days and it’s going to play long and wet.”

Furyk has nine top-15 finishes in 18 Masters starts and has seen a variety of conditions.

“I’ve had some opportunities to win there and had some good chances,” said Furyk, who has been ranked in the top 50 in the world since mid-1996 except for a brief stint in early 2012. “I think back to the year Zach Johnson won it (in 2007, when Furyk tied for 13th), it was set up really well for the average-length guy. And the year Mike Weir won (2003, when Furyk was fourth). That’s where you see guys that have great short games like Zach and Mike have real good opportunities. They played well for the week and won the golf tournament.”

Both of those Masters came after nearly 300 yards were added to the course in 2002.

“It’s changed over the years,” said Furyk, who said he still enjoys the challenge Augusta National presents. “When I first went, I thought it was probably the most fun I had ever had on a golf course. It was just a fun golf course to play. I enjoyed that risk/reward and taking your pops and chances. I would describe it differently now. It’s difficult. I’m tired by the end of the day. It wears you out. It wears you down. It’s a much tougher test of golf. It’s a much harder golf course.”

Furyk does have experience on his side – he has 68 rounds under his belt, missing the cut just twice.

“After you play there for a few years, you realize the severity of the golf course, you realize the penalty for when you try to attack and it doesn’t work out. That helps you weigh the options and make better decisions.”

At 44, Furyk has learned what works for him on the PGA Tour schedule-wise. The 16-time winner makes sure he has a long off-season. This year, he didn’t play a stroke-play event from the end of the Tour Championship on Sept. 4 until the first round at Pebble Beach on Feb. 12. It seemed to pay off – he shot 64-70-63-74 to tie for seventh at Pebble Beach.

“It’s important for me,” Furyk said of his time off. “It keeps me fresh. I get to spend more time with my family and be home. In order for me to be mentally 100 percent and be totally focused on what I’m doing out here – I don’t have 25, 28 or 30 events in me anymore – I’ve got to shorten that number, then I can give it my all for 21 events.”

The time away “makes me kind of fall in love with the game again and want to be out here competing,” he said. “The idea for the season is to play enough that you’re sharp and not too much that you’re tired.”