Furyk Is King of Las Vegas

If Jim Furyk was as good at the craps table as he is on the golf course, he’d be the most popular guy on The Strip.

Furyk, who seems to have made the Las Vegas Invitational his own, shot a six-under 66 Sunday to win the tournament for the second consecutive year and third time in five years. He won $450,000.

Furyk, who in a six-year PGA Tour career has only one victory outside Las Vegas, held off Jonathan Kaye, who has not won a tour event, by one shot.

Furyk finished at 29-under 331 for the five-day event with only one bogey over the 90 holes. He had 32 birdies, one double-bogey, and the rest pars.

Furyk said patience is the key in an event that everyone knows will feature batches of birdies.

“I know when you start and you think you’re going to have to go 25 under, average five under for five days, that’s an awesome number. That can cause a lot of pressure,” he said. “So I think you have to take your focus off that and not start forcing the ball, not hit stupid shots.”

Kaye, a self-taught golfer whose career was sidetracked by shoulder problems, shot a 64 to earn $270,000, his biggest payday.

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David Graham had four consecutive birdies on the front side, taking the lead for good at No. 5 as he established a tournament record in winning the Raley’s Gold Rush Classic at El Dorado Hills.

Graham, who won $165,000, shot a seven-under 65 at Serrano Country Club, winning by four strokes over Larry Mowry (67) and compiling a 54-hole total of 17-under 199. Bob Charles had the old mark at Rancho Murieta Country Club, finishing at 201 in 1992.

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Akiko Fukushima had a four-under 68 to overcome a four-stroke deficit and win the LPGA Tournament of Champions by one stroke over Karia Hjorth (73) and Karrie Webb (70) at Semmes, Ala.

Fukushima finished with a nine-under 279 total and she wasn’t guaranteed the victory and $122,000 until Hjorth bogeyed No. 18.

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Colin Montgomerie, taking pain killers to numb an infected tooth, won his first World Match Play title, defeating defending champion Mark O’Meara 3 and 2 in the final at Virginia Water, England.

The victory was Montgomerie’s sixth this year on the European Tour, tying a modern record. He avenged last year’s loss to O’Meara in the second round.

Top Finishers

$2.5-MILLION

LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL--Par 72

331 (-29)--$450,000

Jim Furyk: 67-64-63-71-66

332 (-28)--$270,000

Jonathan Kaye: 63-66-66-73-64

338 (-22)--$170,000

Dudley Hart: 65-68-67-74-64

339 (-21)--$120,000

Chris Perry: 67-63-67-74-68

This week: National Car Rental Golf Classic at Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

$1.1-MILLION RALEY’S GOLD

RUSH CLASSIC--Par 72

199 (-17)--165,000

David Graham: 63-71-65

203 (-13)--$96,800

Larry Mowry: 67-69-67

204 (-12)--$60,500

J.C. Snead: 66-73-65

Terry Dill: 68-69-67

George Archer: 70-68-66

Allen Doyle: 66-66-72

This week: EMC Kaanapali Classic, Maui, Hawaii.

$750,000 TOURNAMENT

OF CHAMPIONS--Par 72

279 (-9)--$122,000

Akiko Fukushima: 71-71-69-68

280 (-8)--$64,875

Karrie Webb 66-74-70-70

Maria Hjorth: 71-64-72-73

281 (-7)--$42,050

Chris Johnson: 70-71-69-71

Next: Oct. 29-31--Nichirei International, Tsukuba Country Club, Ibaraki, Japan.