DUBLIN, Ohio — Golf, at the professional level, is a young man’s game.
A glance at the world rankings will show you that, among the top-20 ranked players, only three have reached their 40th birthday — 44-year-old Tiger Woods, who’s ranked 14th, 40-year-old Adam Scott, who’s ranked ninth, and 42-year-old Matt Kuchar, who’s ranked 20th.
The rising stars in golf have either not yet reached 30 or barely eclipsed that threshold — No. 1 ranked Rory McIlroy is 31, No. 2 Jon Rahm is 25, No. 3 Justin Thomas is 27, No. 7 Bryson DeChambeau is 26, No. 13 Collin Morikawa is 23 and ranked one spot ahead of Woods.
You get the picture.
It’s a young man’s game.
“It is,’’ 50-year-old Jim Furyk agreed after shooting a 4-under 68 in Friday’s second round of the Memorial to enter the weekend in a tie for eighth, five shots out of the lead.
Furyk, the 2018 Ryder Cup captain, is tied with 53-year-old and good friend Steve Stricker, who’s the current U.S. Ryder Cup captain. Stricker, who won the Memorial in 2011, shot a 5-under 67 on Friday and is also 4-under for the week.
Vijay Singh, who’s 57 and won the Memorial in 1997, is 1-over par and made the cut. Ernie Els, 50, was even par entering Friday but missed the cut after shooting a second-round 77.
Make no mistake: Muirfield Village is a big ballpark. It’s not Colonial or Harbour Town or Innisbrook, which are singles-hitters parks.
Add to that: The conditions this week have bordered on treacherous with the rough having not been cut in more than a week and the greens, which will be torn up for replacement on Sunday as the final round is taking place, starting to show a sheen shinier than Mr. Clean’s bald head.
And yet here are 50-somethings Furyk and Stricker in the mix with 36 holes to play.
“It’s kind of fun to see the old guys go out there and play well,’’ Furyk told The Post after his second round, standing alongside his 72-year-old caddie, Mike “Fluff’’ Cowan.
Furyk and Stricker remain in contention despite the fact that they hit the ball some 50 yards shorter off the tee than DeChambeau, McIlroy, Johnson, Brooks Koepka et al.
“When I was 39, I was asked by a writer, ‘Are you afraid the game’s going to pass you by with all these young kids coming out hitting it farther and farther?’ ’’ Furyk recalled. “I said, ‘Eventually that’s going to happen. It’s not today. It’s not tomorrow. It’s not next year. But it’s coming eventually.’ ’’
Furyk and Stricker are staving off eventually at the moment, and it’s cool to see.
“As you get older, you either find other ways to compete and get a lot better in some other areas or eventually you’re not going to hit it far enough to compete,’’ Furyk said. “There’s still some courses out here that are really difficult for me to compete and give up a bunch of yardage to guys.
“A golf course like this puts stress on me. It’s put stress on me the last few years. For me to come into these greens with 6-iron when someone else going in with 9-iron is a significant difference. The way it’s set up right now and way it’s playing, I’m still capable, but I’m kind of [better off at] Fort Worth and Innisbrook and Harbour Town.
“Those are the ones that are up my alley.’’
Can Furyk do this weekend what he did in 2002 at Memorial, which is win?
“If I didn’t think that, I wouldn’t be playing,’’ Furyk said. “[Saturday] will be about putting myself in position to make a run at that on Sunday.’’
The way the course is hardening, two more 68s, which would get Furyk to 12-under, might do the trick.
“I imagine this place if going to turn white or get into shades of purple by the time Sunday afternoon comes around,’’ Furyk said. “I hit a lot of good shots out there [Friday] and actually got to see some putts go in, which was kind of fun. It feels good going into the weekend in good shape. I’m happy about it.’’
Especially at 50.