PGA Tour suspends rule that burned Furyk for being late

Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem announced Tuesday the suspension for the rest of the season the pro-am policy that disqualified Jim Furyk from playing in last week's The Barclays, the first of four FedExCup playoffs events. Furyk was disqualified for missing his tee time for the tournament's pro-am on Aug. 25. Furyk, who arrived at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., five minutes late, overslept after his cellphone lost power and the alarm did not sound.

Now, should a player be late for his pro-am starting time, the situation will be handled as a matter of unbecoming conduct. The player will be required to participate in the remainder of the pro-am round and may be required to perform additional sponsor activity.

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A player who misses his pro-am obligation in its entirety will still be ruled ineligible for the tournament unless he has been excused because of a family emergency or injury.

Furyk, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, dropped from No. 3 in the FedExCup playoffs race to No. 8. The winner wins the $10 million grand prize. Furyk is playing in the postseason's second event, the Deutsche Bank Championship, which starts Friday.

"I am glad the PGA Tour has changed the rule surrounding my disqualification from last week's Barclays Championship," Furyk said in an email. "Pro-ams are an integral part of our success out here on the PGA Tour but I'm extremely pleased that commissioner Finchem and the Tour staff has reacted swiftly and modified the rule."

Finchem has asked the Player Advisory Council and Player Directors to evaluate the current pro-am regulations, which were adopted in 2004 by the Tour's Policy Board. The matter will be discussed at the Policy Board meeting in November.

At The Barclays, 54 of the 125 players in the field were entered in the pro-am. After Furyk was disqualified, world No. 2 Phil Mickelson sternly criticized the rule and called it "ridiculous."

"The rule itself applies to only half the field," Mickelson said last week. "If you're going to have a rule that does not apply to everybody, because not everybody played the pro-am, you cannot have it affect the competition.

"I cannot disagree with it more. I have no idea how the commissioner let this rule go through. It's ridiculous."