Pro-ams on the PGA Tour are unique opportunities for everyday golfers to tee it up inside the ropes with the best players in the world.
While the amateurs always want to put on a good show for the pro in their group, the pros aren’t expecting much from them, and Jim Furyk apparently doesn’t sugarcoat that fact when he’s playing on Wednesdays.
Justin Thomas was speaking to the assembled media prior to the first round of the Honda Classic this week when he relayed a story about Furyk at the Travelers Championship Pro-Am in which he succinctly explained to his amateur partners in no uncertain terms his expectations for their play.
“(Amateurs) always ask for advice in these pro-ams, and although it’s very blunt and very aggressive, I remember Jim Furyk’s talking at the Travelers, talking to this group, and again, they asked for advice, and he was like, don’t take this the wrong way, but he’s like, you guys suck. We don’t think you’re good, so don’t think that you’re good because we’re expecting you to shoot 90.
“Like you’re an 18 handicap for a reason, so don’t go out there thinking you’re going to hit the same shots we are because you’re not. We’re better than you, we practice a lot more, you have jobs. Our job is this. We have to be good or we don’t have a job. So it’s like, don’t expect so high of yourself because it’s just not realistic kind of thing.”
While the truth can hurt sometimes, it likely calms down the amateur partners to some extent.
If you’re ever looking for a reality check for your own golf game, look no further than Jim Furyk. He’ll tell you flat-out, your expectations for yourself are too high.
