Jim Furyk relishes new role as Golf Channel analyst for The Players

Jim Furyk was a big believer as a player in advance scouting the week of a PGA Tour event.

Nothing’s changed now what he’s watching and analyzing shots instead of hitting them.

The 17-time PGA Tour winner and Jacksonville resident is in his second week of serving an analyst for Golf Channel’s coverage of a Florida Swing event. He debuted last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and is working again with anchor Terry Gannon for the early round coverage of The Players Championship from 1-7 p.m.

Jim Furyk of Jacksonville (left) is working on Golf Channel broadcasts of The Players Championship this week with anchor Terry Gannon (right).

Golf Channel’s eight hours are more than the usual Thursday-Friday Tour coverage so Furyk will make up for the two hours he lost on the air last week at Bay Hill because of a weather suspension. As usual, he’s tackling the opportunity with the same intensity he had as a player.

He said he has a newfound appreciation for career broadcasters such as Gannon and NBC producer Tommy Roy.

“They’re extremely talented,” Furyk said earlier in the week from the NBC compound near the 17th hole of the Players Stadium Course. “I always knew it was a difficult job but they make it look very, very easy. Terry, with all the moving parts of the show and the reads and stuff coming in … I was just very thankful to start doing this with him, as good as he is, and Steve Sands and Curt Byrum … what they do is quite incredible. It’s hard to explain until you’re in there. There’s a lot of moving parts, a lot going on in their ear and they’re smooth as silk, painting a great story.”

Other First Coast pros have given TV a try

Furyk is the latest in a line of Tour players with First Coast and Golden Isles ties to give broadcasting a try. David Duval had a gig with Golf Channel until he began playing PGA Tour Champions full-time. Davis Love III worked with CBS for a brief time. Mark McCumber and Rocco Mediate have also had their turns, and McCumber still works for PGA Tour Radio on Sirius.

Jacksonville native David Duval (right) worked as an analyst for Golf Channel until he began playing full-time on the PGA Tour Champions.

Furyk believes that his perspective as a player ― especially one who had 23 starts and five top 10s in The Players Championship ― gives him something to offer TV viewers.

“Guys like [NBC anchor] Dan Hicks and Terry set up the scene, and I see the shots and react,” Furyk said. “I’m supposed to tell the viewer what’s happening and why. How can I give them knowledge about the golf course, about the shot that’s been hit. I think a golf professional who played competitively can do that. You just have to get comfortable with the camera and how everything works in the studio.”

Furyk stepping up his pre-tournament prep

Furyk is taking it seriously. He’s been walking the Stadium Course, observing where the pin positions will be, how firm or soft areas of the golf course are and any subtle changes.

Furyk said he’s stepping up his preparation this week because he said the research and time he spent at Bay Hill wasn’t enough.

“When I was a rookie on Tour, I prepared for tournaments in a certain way,” he said. “And then I realized very quickly that there were veteran players who did that better than I did, and so I would play golf with them, play practice rounds, see how they prepared, and ask questions. I learned in 10 minutes the first day on camera [at Bay Hill] that I needed to prepare a little differently. Last week went really positive, but surely I have a lot to learn, and I want to keep improving and keep getting better. It’s just my nature, very competitive.”

Jim Furyk had 23 starts and five top-10s at The Players Championship.

Furyk said he discussed some constructive criticism after the first round at Bay Hill with Roy and Gannon. For the most part, they stressed more eye contact with the host or camera.

Furyk said there were other areas where he got some guidance that were subtle, but would make him better.

“There’s always going to be a little tidbits,” he said. “I probably stepped on the on-course reporter a couple of times. The viewer wouldn’t know that. But the team knows that when it might not have been my turn to speak and it took me a second or two to realize it was my turn to speak when I wasn’t. But just learning those little cadence things … it’s not something I could have practiced for. That’s something you pick up on the fly.”

Furyk doesn’t see himself as a Johnny Miller

Furyk said he and Golf Channel will talk after The Players to see if they want to continue the relationship but he said if broadcasting turns into a second career, the one thing he will not be as an analyst is over the top with criticism, such as Johnny Miller.

“I think when I played … I didn’t mind anyone saying it was a bad shot,” he said. “I’m never going to question what someone’s got inside them. That’s off-limits, in my opinion. I don’t find myself backing off. It’s really to react to what I’m seeing, try to explain to the viewer why.”

Furyk’s take on 2026 Players

Furyk said this week’s Players comes down to who deals best with architect Pete Dye’s goal of making it more of a mental test than physical.

“Pete wants them to feel uncomfortable,” Furyk said. “He wants them to be aggressive. You have to attack the golf course. Now, if you’re not playing well, it’s going to bite you. But if you want to win this tournament, you’re going to have to attack the golf course in certain areas and off the tee surely.”

Furyk said he’s amused at the perception that world No. 1 and two-time Players champion Scottie Scheffler is in a slump.

“It’s nuts,” Furyk said. “I was thinking about it after the third round last week. He had a bad front nine, didn’t play very well, missed some greens, missed a bunch of putts. It didn’t look good. He was visibly frustrated. And then we went off the air, and I went home and I watched it on NBC, and he comes out, he birdies five of the next six and does Scottie-like things. We expect so much out of him, almost to be superhuman. That’s the way we talk about him. We were expecting that from Tiger and that usually tends to weigh down on you. But every great player expects more out of themselves than we expect of them.”

Furyk said he’s not writing off his PGA Tour Champions career but injuries have curtailed his schedule in the past two years. He made one start this season, in Hawaii, and isn’t sure when he will play next.

He will continue his duties as host of the Constellation Furyk & Friends tournament, which moves to Ocean Hammock in Palm Coast in October.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jim Furyk embraces new role as Golf Channel analyst for The Players

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