‘We certainly dipped into a few pockets’: David Duval, Jim Furyk started out taking players’ money on Nike Tour (now Korn Ferry)

David Duval and Jim Furyk have won millions of dollars in their respective PGA Tour careers.

They’ve played some of the best rounds in Tour history. Duval shot a 59, and so did Furyk, who followed that up a few years later with a record 58.

The two reunite this week at the 35th Chubb Classic on the PGA Tour Champions at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort.

“To have been knowing and playing and competing against somebody for 35, 36 years, and he and I are dear friends, our wives are dear friends, Tabitha and Susie, I just think that just the opportunity to kind of reconnect that way, especially in a competitive environment, is a true blessing that the Champions Tour provides,” Duval said.

Duval is back playing after turning 50 last year and becoming eligible for the Champions Tour following several years in the broadcast booth. Furyk has shifted more so to the Champions Tour after playing both tours, but mainly on the PGA Tour until last year.

Duval said he was 15 when he first saw Furyk, who was 16 but already 6-foot, at an AJGA junior tournament in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

They became friends in college and closer when they both joined the then-Nike Tour, and played practice round games on Tuesday, pairing against fellow tour pros for money.

“We have a pretty good record, I will just say, and made a few bucks,” Furyk said. “He’s a heck of a partner. About three years after that, there was a couple veterans out there that tried to steal a little money from us, and three years later he was ranked in the top 10 in the world and I was ranked top 25 in the world, so they probably picked the wrong battle.

“But it was a lot of fun on Tuesday to gain some experience and play a lot of golf alongside him. We were always partners, so put a lot of practice rounds together on the tour, played a lot of practice rounds in majors together, and so I spent a lot of time with David.”

“We certainly dipped into a few pockets,” Duval said. “He and I were partners virtually every week. I don’t recall having to pay out too often.”

While Furyk did have that 58 in addition to a 59, he said Duval looks at his own 59 in a different way.

“David likes to brag that his was 13 under and both of mine were 12 under, but mine was still one lower, so we’re in a little competitive battle as good friends,” Furyk said.

First Tee Challenge returns

The Golf to Paradise – First Tee Champions Challenge is set to celebrate its 15th anniversary this week when 20 First Tee participants representing 10 chapters throughout the country play in conjunction with the Chubb Classic.

In partnership with the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention, and Visitors Bureau, the Golf to Paradise – First Tee Champions Challenge will feature three nine-hole rounds of competition, with an alternate format each day on three of Naples’ premier golf courses.

On Friday, the teams will play in a better-ball format at The Moorings Country Club, Saturday will be a scramble format at Royal Poinciana Golf Club, and Sunday will be alternate-shot format at Lely Golf and Country Club (Flamingo Course).

Prior to competition, the First Tee students will participate in a First Tee Champions Challenge Clinic presented by Premier Packaging, taking place on the back of the driving range on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. at Tiburón Golf Club with PGA Tour Champions players. The First Tee participants also will participate in the “Keep Collier Beautiful Beach Clean Up” volunteer service activity on Saturday morning prior to their second-round play at Royal Poinciana.

The First Tee Chapters and participants include: Ty Kaufman and Julian Alonso, First Tee – Naples/Collier; Bradley Lardie and Adam Koval, First Tee – West Michigan; Dylan Callaway and Daniel McCloskey, First Tee – Pittsburgh; Brant Dattilo and Ava Heaton, First Tee – the Triangle; Gabriella Ishaq and Matthew Stolte, First Tee – Minnesota; Slade Aliff and Caroline Gilreath, First Tee – Roanoke Valley; Devin Carpenter and Isabella Magno, First Tee – Greater Philadelphia; Kaylee Dwyer and Annika Northey, First Tee – Chicago; Zara Karim and Kyndall Campbell, First Tee – Greater Washington, D.C.; Brant Tretter and Sam Reising, First Tee – Indiana

Jimenez remembers Romero

Eduardo Romero, who won five times on the PGA Tour Champions, died, the tour announced Monday, without giving any other details. An Argentina news agency said he died of cancer. He was 67.

“I was so sad to hear that Eduardo has passed away and I send my deepest condolences to his family,” Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez wrote on Twitter. “He was a fantastic guy, a really great golfer and a friend for many years.”

The Argentine, known as “El Gato”, won eight titles on the European Tour, in addition to the five on the PGA Tour Champion where he won major titles at the Tradition in 2006 and the U.S. Senior Open in 2008.