With a nod toward the popularity of the Ryder Cup, Jim Furyk yesterday announced a change in the format for the ninth annual Exelon Invitational.
The event, scheduled for June 4 at the ACE Club in Lafayette Hill, will not be a skins game this year, as it has been in the past.
Instead, it will be a four-ball match, with Furyk and Charles Howell III competing as a team against Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington.
"I want to keep things fresh," said Furyk, revealing the format change at a media day news conference yesterday.
With himself and Howell, both Americans, facing Goosen, a South African, and Harrington, an Irishman, Furyk was also quick to note that the match will take on a friendly us-against-them feel so familiar to fans of both the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup.
"Charles and I are taking on the world," Furyk joked.
While Furyk, ranked the No. 2 golfer in the world behind Tiger Woods, is a staple of both the U.S. Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams, Goosen is a regular on the International Team in the Presidents Cup and Harrington is a frequent player for the European Ryder Cup team.
The total purse this year will be $305,000, with the two winners splitting $160,000 and the losers sharing $120,000. Win or lose, Furyk said yesterday he intended to donate his share to the events beneficiary, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia.
Concerned that the 8,000 to 12,000 fans who turn out to follow the match could get short-changed on their golf if the match ends early, say on the 14th or 15th hole, Exelon and Furyk are adding another feature this year.
If the match does end early, the two teams will play the remaining holes for an additional $25,000, with those earnings going to a charity or charities designated by the winners.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster by calling 215-336-2000. For more information, visit www.exelongolf.com.
Contact staff writer Joe Logan at 215-854-5604 or jlogan@phillynews.com. Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/joelogan.
