HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.—Jim Furyk is far from the longest hitter on the PGA Tour, and that’s one reason he likes to play at 6,973-yard Harbour Town, site of this week’s Heritage. Asked if he would like to see more courses like Harbour Town on Tour, Furyk, the tournament’s defending champion, was quick to respond in the affirmative. “You’re damn right I would,” Furyk said after posting a second-round 66 that gave him a share of the midday lead on Friday. “I’m comfortable. I’m not long by any means. You could argue that I’m short. But I feel like I’m long enough to play on any course at any length.

Jim Furyk escapes the sand at Harbour Town en route to a second-round 66. The defending champion of The Heritage was tied for the midday lead at 8 under par. Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

“But, obviously, my strengths are getting the ball in play. When I’m playing well, my strengths are getting the ball in the fairway and attacking the golf course with short irons in my hand. Yeah, I’d love to play more golf courses at that length. It neutralizes power and kind of brought those guys (longer hitters) back to my game.”

Short, however, isn’t a requirement for Furyk, who has an affinity for traditional courses.

“I pick and choose my schedule by the golf courses that I think favor me,” he explained. “Some of those are short courses. Some of them aren’t. Some of them are long courses. It has more to do with the style and how it suits my eye. I wouldn’t consider Quail Hollow short, and it’s one of my favorite courses.

But, yeah, I’ve always said that, if the golf course was built before 1960, there’s a really good chance I’m going to like it. If it was built after 1990, there’s probably a good chance I’m not going to like it. And so I’d like to see us play more older, traditional golf courses. Some of them are falling by the wayside, but I think we’ve got a bunch of those on Tour, and I enjoy playing them.”