The funky weather led to a Funky winner: Fred Funk may have gone backwards in the final round, three-putting three times, but his efforts were good enough to secure a one-stroke victory in the funkiest Players Championship ever.
The former Maryland Terrapin golf coach birdied the par-5 sixteenth, landed his ball safely on the island green at the seventeenth, and got up and down from a greenside bunker – only yards away from the water – on the last hole, holing a five-footer for the save and the victory.
Said Funk, “I can’t believe it. I didn’t fathom this happening.” His 1-under 71 was stellar given the conditions. The scoring average was about 76.5 on the final day at the TPC at Sawgrass, which saw wind gusts that measured up to 50 MPH and which routinely howled at 30+ MPH.
The wind was so strong at the 17th that whitecaps formed on the small pond. No less than 45 balls found the water on the dangerous hole, including four off the clubs of Bob Tway who played the hole bogey, triple bogey, and triple-triple-triple bogey in his first three rounds. How do you say “nine over on a par three,” anyway? Tway’s 12 – including three shots from the drop area – replaces Robert Gamez’s 11 as the worst score on the 140-yard par three.
Funk may have three-putted the 17th from the back of the green, but it was a 20-foot birdie putt by Luke Donald on the last – one that didn’t find the bottom of the cup – that secured his victory. At age 48, Fred Funk is the oldest winner of The Players Championship. Funk’s five-footer for victory was marked with a punch of his fist and a shout of “Yes!!!” I guess a $1.44 million payday – the richest on the PGA Tour – is worthy of some excitement.
Three players finished tied for second at -8, including Tom Lehman, who fired a final-round 68 and looked to have put himself in a good spot as the leaders stumbled coming home. Scott Verplank, who came to the 18th at -9, lipped out a par putt after bailing well right on his approach and putting his chip to 10 feet. Luke Donald, the 54-hole leader, shot a 40 on the back nine and just missed his 20-foot putt. He finished with a 76 on a day that saw sixteen scores over 80.
Funk’s victory is his sixth on Tour and comes against the best field. Of his five other victories, two came against opposite-field events and two more are no longer on the PGA Tour schedule. Last year, Funk was criticized for skipping the British Open and playing in the B.C. Open to earn Ryder Cup points. Nobody can criticize his 32-hole performance this Monday.
None of the Big Four finished in the top 10. Mickelson took seven on seventeen, hitting two balls in the water. Singh took eight on eighteen, and Tiger and Ernie simply played poorly. Singh retains his #1 ranking in the world, though, having finished well ahead of Tiger Woods.
Defending champ Adam Scott made a run at things early in the day, tying for the lead at one point before falling back. He had a chance as late as the sixteenth and seventeenth holes, but finished with a 73 and tied for eighth, four back.
The Players Championship: a little wind, a little rain, and a whole lotta Funk.
Pos Player Tot R1 R2 R3 R4 Tot 1 Fred Funk -9 65 72 71 71 279 T2 Tom Lehman -8 71 69 72 68 280 T2 Scott Verplank -8 71 67 72 70 280 T2 Luke Donald -8 66 68 70 76 280 5 Joe Durant -7 69 65 71 76 281 T6 Steve Elkington -6 72 66 71 73 282 T6 Tim Herron -6 68 66 72 76 282 T8 J.L. Lewis -5 66 77 70 70 283 T8 Davis Love III -5 72 66 74 71 283 T8 Adam Scott -5 69 68 73 73 283 T8 Zach Johnson -5 65 70 72 76 283
Notables T12 Vijay Singh -4 67 74 71 72 284 T12 Retief Goosen -4 69 70 69 76 284 T32 Sergio Garcia +1 66 75 70 78 289 T40 Phil Mickelson +2 70 68 77 75 290 T53 Tiger Woods +5 70 73 75 75 293
Photo Credit: AP.
I couldn’t be happier for Fred. To play for so many years on the tour and then battle it out on a terrible day for the victory must be very rewarding. I don’t mind that the “big four” were absent on the last day. Good job Funky man.