OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – When the postscripts of this 103rd U.S. Open are analyzed by those who were in attendance, it’ll forever be known as that Open after Bethpage.

Bethpage Black, with its manly and memorable holes, brutal length and the raucous circus atmosphere that engulfed the 2002 Open, set such an indelible mark on the sport begging for more passion, emotion and characters that it became Olympia Fields Country Club’s worst enemy this week.

Olympia Fields and the lethargic, sleepy atmosphere that characterized this week a year after Bethpage injected incredible energy into the sport was like a concert promoter booking Hall and Oates to follow Jimmy Hendrix on the same stage.

It didn’t work.

What did work, however, was Jim Furyk’s often-criticized, unorthodox, loopy swing.

It carried Furyk to a U.S. Open victory yesterday, the first major championship of his career after 30 unsuccessful tries. Furyk, who entered the day with a three-shot lead, staved off a rather meek challenge from the rest of the field and finished at 8-under-par for the week.

So, what this Open should be remembered for more than its course playing more gently than most of its venues ever have and its catatonic galleries is for its newest champion, Furyk, who not only won his first major championship but set some scoring records along the way.

Furyk, a Pennsylvanian, entered the final round having already set U.S. Open records for lowest score through 36 by one stroke and 54 holes by three strokes.

His 2-over-par 72 in yesterday’s final round gave him 272 strokes through 72 holes, tying the previous record set by Jack Nicklaus in 1980 at Baltusrol.

It was surely time for the 33-year-old Furyk to win a major championship. He’d won seven PGA Tour events already and had become one of the most respected players on Tour. He, too, had 11 times finished in the top 10 of majors.

“If you’d pick a major championship for him to win you’d figure it would be this one,” Woods said yesterday. “The way he plays his game and the way this place is set up, this is a perfect venue for him.”

Asked to describe Furyk’s game, Woods said, “Consistent, without a doubt.”

Masters champion Mike Weir, who finished in a tie for third said, “Jim’s just playing Jim Furyk type golf – steady. He wasn’t going to back up.”

Indeed, making Furyk’s first major title after 30 tries without success even more impressive was the self-assured, focused and seemingly calm way he handled the final round, never giving Stephen Leaney, his nearest challenger and playing partner, a sliver of an opening.

Furyk let Leaney and the rest of the field know which way he was headed on this day when he jammed in an 18-foot par-saving putt on No. 2.

Furyk later drained a 10-foot, par-saving putt on No. 5, with the ball stopping for a split second on the lip and finally plopping in, drawing a rare smile from the stoic Furyk.

Later still, Furyk even had to deal with the unusual sight of two bare women’s breasts, which came to him courtesy of a streaker who darted inside the ropes then undid her shirt for him.

Ever unflappable, Furyk never lost his concentration or even showed signs of being rattled, amused or irritated as he calmly drained his four-foot birdie putt on the hole to go to 10-under and take a four-shot lead.

Outside the ropes on this Father’s Day was Furyk’s father and lifelong golf instructor, Mike, enjoying the moments of the day and always with a cup full of beer in hand.

Furyk might not have the perfect fundamentals and the magazine-cover swing, but he does have a coveted major championship, perhaps the first of more to come.

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THE FURYK FILE

FULL NAME: Jim Furyk

HEIGHT: 6-2

WEIGHT: 200

BIRTHDATE: May 12, 1970

BIRTHPLACE: West Chester, PA

RESIDENCE: Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

FAMILY: Wife, Tabitha; Caleigh Lynn (6/24/02)

EDUCATION: University of Arizona

TURNED PROFESSIONAL: 1992

PGA TOUR Victories (8)

1995 Las Vegas Invitational. 1996 United Airlines Hawaiian Open. 1998 Las Vegas Invitational. 1999 Las Vegas Invitational. 2000 Doral-Ryder Open. 2001 Mercedes Championships. 2002 Memorial Tournament, 2003 U.S. Open

International Victories

1997 Argentine Open.