By Robert Wilson
Jackson Academy alumnus Wilson Furr had his best finish in an PGA Tour-sanctioned event Sunday when he finished tied second in the AdventHealth Championship in the Korn Ferry Tour event in Kansas City.
Furr – who set a course record when he shot a 63 in the first round – finished 18 under, tied with Rico Hoey and one shot behind winner Grayson Murray. Furr led after the first round, co-leader after the second round and solo leader after the third round, but Murray shot 4 under in the final round to pass Furr, who shot 1 under.
Furr’s outstanding finish vaulted him from 78th place to 26th place on the Korn Ferry Tour points race. There are 15 more tournaments before the Korn Ferry Tour Championship Oct. 5-8 in Indiana. The top 30 in points at the end of the season receive PGA Tour cards for next year.
The Korn Ferry Tour is one level below the PGA Tour. This is Furr’s first year on the Korn Ferry Tour. Furr, 24, is in his third pro season after playing at Alabama.
This is Furr’s second Top 10 finish in his 11 events this season. He also set a course record for one round and finished 9 under and tied for seventh place at the Hometown Lenders Championship in late April in Huntsville, Ala. He has made six cuts this year.
With his $75,000 in prize money Sunday, Furr has won $120,708 this season and $124,212 in his pro career.
“A couple of weeks ago I was staring at a wall, thinking I had just lost my card,” Furr said. “To be two Top 10s in the past two tournaments, I’m proud of myself for sure. I’m still hungry to get one of these things. I’m a big frustrated, I definitely had a shot at it. I’m pleased with the way the week went; I knew I play well to keep it going. I had a lot of fun. That was the coolest part. I really enjoyed it. I had a good time. I feel like I did a good job today, just didn’t make putts, which you have to do, especially on Sunday. There is a lot of learn from, but I’ll be back.”
Furr will try for his third straight Top 10 finish this week when he plays in the Knoxville Open in Knoxville, Tenn. Keep up with Furr’s progress at pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour.
Furr, who turns 25 July 8, made his professional debut at the U.S. Open as an automatic qualifier in 2021 at Torrey Pines, Calif. Furr shot 77 and 82 in the first two rounds and didn’t make the cut. He received one of the 54 automatic qualifying spots when four players withdrew.
Furr helped Alabama reach four consecutive NCAA Regionals, including a national runner-up finish in 2018. He shot a 9-under 62 in the second round of the 2020 U.S. Amateur on his way to becoming the second player in Alabama men’s golf history to win stroke play medalist honors.
Furr was a second-team Rolex All-American in 2015 while at JA and finished second in the 2015 Junior PGA Championship. At age 16, Furr became the youngest player in the 100-year history of the Mississippi State Amateur to win the event, winning by eight strokes and missing the tournament record by two strokes.
In 2018, Furr won the Mississippi State Amateur for the second time, qualifying him to play in the PGA Sanderson Farms Classic in Jackson.
Furr was ranked as the No. 6 high school prospect in the country in the 2017 class by Golfweek.com.
He was one of six players named to the boys United States Junior Ryder Cup team in the summer of 2016.
