Jim Furyk was born in West Chester on May 12, 1970. His early years were spent in the Pittsburgh suburbs learning the game of golf under the tutelage of his father, who was the head professional at Uniontown Country Club.

Furyk is a 1988 graduate of Manheim Township High School in Lancaster County where he was a standout basketball player in addition to being a state champion golfer. After high school, he attended the University of Arizona where he was twice named All-Pac 10 as well as earning All-American honors twice, before turning professional in 1992. Furyk won at least one tournament each year on the PGA Tour between 1998 and 2003. At the time, that winning streak was second only to Tiger Woods.

Furyk’s signature win came at the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois where he tied the record for the lowest 72-hole score in U.S. Open history to capture his first major championship. He followed that with a win at the Buick Open a few weeks later.

In 2004, he played in only 14 tournaments after missing three months due to surgery to repair cartilage damage in his wrist. He subsequently fell out of the top 100 on the money list. Furyk, however, returned to form in 2005 and regained his top 10 ranking, aided by his two-shot victory over Tiger Woods at the Cialis Western Open.

In 2006, he finished a career-high second on the money list and won the Vardon Trophy for the first time. He finished the year with a career-best 13 top 10 finishes, including nine top threes, four second-place finishes and two victories – the Wachovia Championship and the Canadian Open. He successfully defended his Canadian Open title in 2007.

Last month, Furyk provided his veteran leadership to a young and talented team as the U.S. reclaimed the Ryder Cup from the Europeans with a memorable win at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.

Furyk’s baby, however, is the Exelon Invitational, which benefits the Boys & Girls Clubs in Pennsylvania. This past June, Furyk’s tournament at the ACE Club in Lafayette Hill, went over the $1 million mark on its 10th anniversary.

For all his accomplishments and contributions to the game, Furyk’s trademark remains his looping golf swing. The only instructor he has ever used is his dad, Mike Furyk, which may account for his unusual swing.

Commentator David Feherty, in a somewhat less-than-technical description, once likened Furyk’s swing to “an octopus falling out of a tree.”

While controversial during the early years of his career, Furyk’s swing has held up to the rigors of the professional tour and then some. Today, his well-known ball-striking precision continues to serve him well.

Furyk, however, isn’t the first professional golfer to demonstrate that a swing that defies convention – and countless books and articles on golf – can be successful. Jack Nicklaus’ swing was upright with a flying right elbow – and one of the most notorious loopers of all time was Lee Trevino.

But perhaps the final word on Furyk’s swing was put forth by Sports Illustrated, which said, “It’s time to stop talking about Furyk’s funny swing and start celebrating him as one of the best players in golf.”

Which is precisely why we take great pride in inducting James Michael Furyk into the Chester County Sports Hall of Fame.