A rare show of emotion after usual grit from Furyk

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ATLANTA -- The celebration on the 18th green was worthy of a game-winning touchdown by his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers. Come to think of it, so was the way Jim Furyk played in Sunday's downpour as he won THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola and the FedExCup.

Final-round coverage

DOUBLING UP: A season's worth of accomplishment was rewarded in the form of two trophies for Jim Furyk. Mike McAllister column WINNER'S NEWS CONFERENCE: Watch Furyk describe how the events unfolded as he speaks to the media after his win. Video • Furyk transcript SHOT OF THE DAY: Luke Donald chips in for birdie at the 17th hole. Video LIVE REPORT: Check out how the events unfolded on a busy and rainy final round. Live Report DAILY WRAP-UP: Furyk is the big winner Sunday in the Playoffs finale at East Lake. Wrap-up PLAYER RECAPS: A brief look at how each player in the 30-man field performed on Sunday. Recaps FINAL RESULTS: Standings, money earned and FedExCup points won at THE TOUR Championship. Results • FedExCup bonus winnings TRANSCRIPTS: Luke Donald discusses waiting in the scorer's trailer hoping to get into a sudden-death playoff. Luke Donald • Casey | Kuchar | Watney

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Notebook: Round 4
Photos: Round 4

After he was safely in for the final clinching par, Furyk snatched the ball out of the cup and made a sweeping fist pump, then faced the remnants of a hardy crowd huddled under their umbrellas and thrust both arms into the air. A couple of gutteral "Whoos" and several jubilant swipes at the damp air later, Furyk gathered his wife Tabitha into his arms.

The rare show of emotion from the champion, who also got choked up when he talked about his parents and his wife and two children during the trophy ceremony, showed just how much the dual victory meant to Furyk. THE TOUR Championship win was his third of the season -- a first -- and established him as the odds-on favorite for PGA TOUR Player of the Year.

Oh, and that silver Tiffany trophy he received for the season-long FedExCup competition also came with a $10 million bonus. That's enough to make anyone a little crazy -- even if Furyk, who beat Luke Donald by one, wasn't totally sure he'd accomplished the double dip until after he walked off the green.

"Tiger would have done that and no one would have thought anything about it," Furyk later said with a grin. "... But because it's me, and when I don't (smile), people go, 'God, it looks like he's not even having fun out there.' Trust me, I'm having a blast. But when I do (celebrate), it's funny, and I understand why. But I'm just happy. ...

"I hit it, and I knew it was in the middle, and I'm taking a step to pick it up as it's going in, and it just hit me. ... I guess at that moment you're not really responsible for what happens next."

Furyk's $39 putter

The putter was $65 but the folks at Joe & Leigh's in South Easton, Mass., sold it to Jim Furyk for $39. After all, it was a used putter with a nick on the back flange and a ding in the top line. But after Jim Furyk used the Yes! putter to win THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola -- and the $10 million FedExCup bonus -- the investment may be one of the best of his career. "I didn't ask for that, trust me -- I didn't barter," Furyk was quick to point out. "... I guess we were meant to be, who knows?" Furyk hadn't been particularly happy with his putting when he got to the Deutsche Bank Championship three weeks ago. In fact, he opted for a belly model in the first three rounds before switching to his newest acquisition for the finale at TPC Boston. He has putted with it ever since. "I just wanted it as simple as it could be, heel-shafted," Furyk said. "It was the only one in the shop of about 300 putters. At the time I didn't think it was all the that pretty to be honest with you, but it's getting a lot better looking every day."

Furyk handled everything that happened Sunday at East Lake with the same determination Charlie Batch shows when he tosses a touchdown pass. And during the nearly two-hour rain delay, Furyk got to watch the Steelers quarterback connect on two -- so he was primed when he headed back out for the final 10 holes with what he called an "eerie" calm.

And in what was at times a driving rain, Furyk hung tough and built a three-stroke lead when he two-putted from 26 feet at the par-5 15th hole. Granted, the man who says "I have a tendency and a history in my career to make it interesting," gave himself a few anxious moments when he flubbed a chip at the 16th hole and missed a 7-footer to save par at No. 17.

But Furyk was golden from the greenside bunker at the 18th hole -- blasting to 3 feet for what would be his ninth successful sand save is as many attempts during THE TOUR Championship. He'd only batted 100 percent from the sand one other time during his career at the 2009 World Golf Championships-CA Championship when he went 11-for-11.

"Let's just say I had a lot of confidence, and it came off the club perfect," Furyk recalled. "... From my perspective I had kind of the worm cam. I was just 'stop, stop, stop,' I knew I was spinning like crazy, but I heard everyone cheering from down there. I couldn't tell if it was five feet or two feet. ... I was happy to see it was pretty much dummy-proof."

Furyk's grit and determination was not lost on his peers -- or his long-time caddy Mike (Fluff) Cowan. "If all it took was heart, he'd win every week," Cowan said with conviction.

Paul Casey, who had a chance to win the FedExCup until he bogeyed the 17th hole, called Furyk "Mr. Unflappable."

"Great temperament, wonderful ball striker. He's got the whole package," the Englishman said. "There is no surprise to any of the guys playing in this tournament that Jim has hung around on the top of the leaderboard and hasn't given anything to anybody."

Furyk was looking forward to a hot shower before he made a quick trip to the airport to join his U.S. teammates on a charter flight to Wales. He doesn't expect a letdown at the Ryder Cup, which he calls his "favorite" event. If anything, the fire should burn brighter after what has turned into a career-year for the 16-time PGA TOUR champ.

"Tonight, when I get on the plane, we'll click the switch," Furyk said. "We'll be Ryder Cup-bound. If you can't get up for the Ryder Cup, there's something wrong. There's something wrong. You're representing your country and doing it with 11 of your friends and your teammates and guys that I admire.

"So I'm hoping to just keep this roll going and keep the pedal down next week. If I don't, it won't be anything from a mental perspective, I promise you that."

Don't even think about it. Furyk will be ready.