He has had top four finishes in six of his last seven starts. He is likely to have Tiger Woods as his partner in next week’s Ryder Cup. And, if all that’s not enough to bring a smile from ear to ear, he could fly to Dublin £1m (€1.5m) richer if everything goes the way he hopes at Wentworth.

So why the long face? Because he has had to break a rule with his two children that he would not be away from them for more than two weeks.

Furyk, whose trip to Europe ends with the American Express world championship at The Grove near Watford, was greeted by his family as he achieved the win which lifts him above Phil Mickelson in the world rankings.

“When I went to sign my card, they were supposed to be long gone,” said the 36-year-old. “My wife kind of hung back and changed the flight around so they could see me finish, but they had to leave immediately.

“Both my kids know that I’m leaving for three weeks and my son was a little sad about that, which is good and bad. It’s nice to see that he’s sad and upset, but it makes you feel awful that you have to leave.

“I’ve never left my family for that long. We’ve kind of always made it a rule that I wouldn’t be gone more than two weeks at a time from them. When they’re not in school they’re travelling with me almost full-time.

“We made an exception for this schedule and I’m upset about that. I kind of waved goodbye to them during the round and I thought they were gone, so it was nice to see them afterwards.”

Furyk’s recent run does not compare, of course, to the five successive wins of Woods, whom he could face in Saturday’s semi-finals. But he is mighty pleased with his form as the Ryder Cup approaches.

“It’s been a great year and I still have some events left, so hopefully I can keep riding the wave and finish it out well,” he stated.

“I’ve just kind of found a way to get the ball in the hole and score and hang around instead of throwing myself out of a tournament.

“I looked at the schedule and the weeks leading up to the Ryder Cup. I like to play my way into shape – I don’t want to take a couple weeks off and then show up at the Ryder Cup.

“At the Match Play you can play well and lose, so the Canadian was just a perfect fit as a preparation.

“There’s going to be a lot of pressure at the Ryder Cup and any time you can put yourself in contention, get comfortable, do something well, I’ll take that experience with me and will it help out at the Ryder Cup.

“Hopefully it will help a lot.”