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Fred Funk

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Fred Funk
Funk in 2006
Personal information
Full nameFrederick Funk
Born (1956-06-14) June 14, 1956 (age 68)
Takoma Park, Maryland, U.S.
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidencePonte Vedra Beach, Florida, U.S.
SpouseSharon
Children3
Career
CollegeUniversity of Maryland
Turned professional1981
Current tour(s)PGA Tour Champions (joined 2006)
Former tour(s)PGA Tour (joined 1989)
Professional wins29
Highest ranking21 (June 22, 2003)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour8
PGA Tour Champions9
Other12
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT17: 1997
PGA ChampionshipT4: 2002
U.S. Open6th: 2004
The Open ChampionshipT66: 2006

Frederick Funk (born June 14, 1956) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He previously played on the PGA Tour, where he was an eight-time winner. Funk's signature win came at The Players Championship in 2005 when he prevailed in a four-way playoff.

Early life

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Fred Funk was born in Takoma Park, Maryland. He tried several sports, and even boxed for eight years for a junior boys club. He played on the golf team at High Point High School in Beltsville, Maryland.[2]

Funk went to the University of Maryland, College Park, but was cut from the golf team in 1975. He transferred to Prince George's Community College, then returned to UM two years later to earn a top spot with the Terrapins golf team.[3] At the time he also held a job as a circulation supervisor for the Washington Star.[2] He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1980 with a degree in law enforcement. He turned professional in 1981, but worked as a golf coach at UM from 1982 to 1988.[3]

PGA Tour career

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After also playing in a few PGA Tour event for several years beginning in 1982 but with little success,[4] Funk finally became a member of the PGA Tour in 1989, playing in 29 official tournaments and several unofficial ones. He earned his biggest paycheck to date with $12,500 in a tie for ninth in the Chattanooga Classic.[4]

In 1990, he struggled with consistency, missing the cut in nearly half the tournaments he entered. However, there were some bright spots, including a T-3 to earn $34,800 in the Chattanooga Classic as well as a fifth-place finish in the Buick Open to pocket $40,000.[4] In 1991 he had slightly more success, with top-10 finishes in five tournaments.[4]

Funk broke through in 1992 with his most successful year to date, including his first PGA Tour win. In May, he captured the Shell Houston Open with a 16-under score for a two-stroke win over Kirk Triplett and winnings of $216,000.[4]

In 1995, he won his second PGA Tour tournament with a score of 16-under at the 1995 Ideon Classic, for which he earned $180,000. He followed that up with a win just two months later at the Buick Challenge, with another 16-under for $180,000.[4]

Funk was a member of the United States teams at the 2003 and 2005 Presidents Cup and the 2004 Ryder Cup. He received some criticism in 2004 for opting out of The Open Championship, one of the tour's four major tournaments, despite having qualified. He played instead in that week's B.C. Open, a much less prestigious event, but one which also offered Ryder Cup ranking points.[5]

In 2005, Funk scored his biggest PGA Tour win when he captured The Players Championship, also becoming its oldest winner at 48 years, 9 months, 14 days by defeating Tom Lehman, Scott Verplank and Luke Donald by a stroke.[6] He earned $1.44 million for the win.[6]

Since turning 50 in June 2006, Funk has been eligible for Champions Tour events and debuted in the 2006 U.S. Senior Open. When he turned 50, he still featured in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

He won a further PGA Tour tournament, his eighth career win, in 2007 after his senior debut, becoming only the second over-50 player to win on the PGA Tour in 31 years. That win came at the first Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun, an alternate event to the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, so none of the world's top 64 ranked players were in the field. By winning the Mayakoba Golf Classic, Funk became the first man to win a PGA Tour event held in Mexico and, at age 50 years, 8 months and 12 days, became the fifth-oldest champion in PGA Tour history and the oldest since Art Wall Jr. (51 years, 7 months, 10 days) at the 1975 Greater Milwaukee Open.[6]

Funk is generally regarded as one of the shortest drivers on today's PGA Tour, but is always at or near the top of the driving accuracy statistics. In fact, many of his playing competitors are now regarding him as perhaps the straightest driver to ever play golf; in the past 14 years, Funk has achieved the highest driving accuracy on the PGA Tour seven times, and has been in the top five of this statistic for every year but one in that period.

On March 28, 2005, Funk picked up the biggest win of his career, becoming the oldest player ever to win The Players Championship. He also won the unofficial Skins Game tournament, during which, to satisfy a friendly bet, he wore a pink skirt that Annika Sörenstam pulled out of her golf bag when she outdrove Funk on the par-five third hole. The skirt was actually picked out by Funk's wife, Sharon.

In August 2008, Funk won his first senior major, the JELD-WEN Tradition.

After years of chronic knee pain, Funk underwent a total knee replacement in 2009.[7] Later that year, on June 8, 2009, he became the oldest qualifier, at age 53, for the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black by shooting 139 over 36 holes at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland, surviving a playoff.

In August 2009, Funk won his second major championship on the Champions Tour at the 2009 U.S. Senior Open at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana. Funk dominated the rest of the field and cruised to a six-stroke victory over Joey Sindelar.[8]

With his third senior major victory at the 2010 Jeld-Wen Tradition, he became the first player to win a PGA Tour-sanctioned event after knee-replacement surgery.[7]

A popular player on tour, his fans are referred to as "Funk's Punks." The iconic songs — Play That Funky Music and Give Up the Funk — have become theme songs for the fan favorite.

Funk has publicly endorsed a number of products including clubs, greens, and golf balls. He maintains professional relationships with Southwest Greens,[9] TaylorMade for its clubs,[10] Titleist golf balls,[11] and Stryker Orthopaedics.[12]

As of the 2013–14 season at age 57, Funk currently still plays in several PGA Tour events a year while devoting most of his time to the Champions Tour.[13]

At the end of the 2013 season, Funk ranked 38th in career PGA Tour earnings with just over $21 million in earnings.[14] He ranked 23rd in all-time Champions Tour earnings with over $9.1 million.[15]

Personal life

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Funk married his wife, Sharon (Archer), in 1994.[16] They currently reside in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. They had a son, Taylor Christian, in 1995. He played golf for Ponte Vedra High School and won the Florida 2A state championship in October 2013 and later the University of Texas. Taylor turned professional in 2017. They have a daughter, Perri Leigh, born in 1999. Fred has a son, Eric Justin, born in 1991 during Fred's first marriage, which ended in 1992; Eric graduated from Virginia Tech in 2013.[17][18]

Funk has been enshrined in both the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame as well as the state of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame.[6]

Professional wins (29)

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PGA Tour wins (8)

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Legend
Players Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (7)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 May 3, 1992 Shell Houston Open −16 (68-72-62-70=272) 2 strokes United States Kirk Triplett
2 Jul 30, 1995 Ideon Classic at Pleasant Valley −16 (66-63-66-73=268) 1 stroke United States Jim McGovern
3 Oct 1, 1995 Buick Challenge −16 (69-67-69-67=272) 1 stroke United States John Morse, United States Loren Roberts
4 Sep 22, 1996 B.C. Open −16 (68-66-63=197)* Playoff United States Pete Jordan
5 Jul 19, 1998 Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic −18 (69-64-69-68=270) 2 strokes United States Paul Goydos, United States Franklin Langham,
United States Tim Loustalot
6 Oct 3, 2004 Southern Farm Bureau Classic (2) −22 (69-67-64-66=266) 1 stroke United States Ryan Palmer
7 Mar 28, 2005 The Players Championship −9 (65-72-71-71=279) 1 stroke England Luke Donald, United States Tom Lehman,
United States Scott Verplank
8 Feb 25, 2007 Mayakoba Golf Classic −14 (62-69-64-71=266) Playoff Argentina José Cóceres

*Note: The 1996 B.C. Open was shortened to 54 holes due to weather.

PGA Tour playoff record (2–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1996 B.C. Open United States Pete Jordan Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1996 Buick Challenge United States Michael Bradley, United States Davis Love III,
United States John Maginnes, United States Len Mattiace 		Bradley won with birdie on first extra hole
3 1998 Buick Challenge Australia Steve Elkington Lost to par on first extra hole
4 1999 B.C. Open United States Brad Faxon Lost to par on second extra hole
5 2007 Mayakoba Golf Classic Argentina José Cóceres Won with birdie on second extra hole

Other wins (12)

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PGA Tour Champions wins (9)

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Legend
Champions Tour major championships (3)
Other Champions Tour (6)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 Oct 22, 2006 AT&T Championship −12 (65-67-69=201) 1 stroke United States Chip Beck
2 Jan 28, 2007 Turtle Bay Championship −23 (65-64-64=193) 11 strokes United States Tom Kite, Japan Kiyoshi Murota,
United States Tom Purtzer, United States Loren Roberts,
Zimbabwe Denis Watson
3 Jan 20, 2008 MasterCard Championship −21 (67-63-65=195) 2 strokes United States Allen Doyle
4 Aug 17, 2008 JELD-WEN Tradition −19 (69-66-65-69=269) 3 strokes United States Mike Goodes
5 Aug 2, 2009 U.S. Senior Open −20 (68-67-68-66=268) 6 strokes United States Joey Sindelar
6 Aug 2, 2010 JELD-WEN Tradition (2) −12 (68-69-70-69=276) 1 stroke United States Michael Allen, Taiwan Lu Chien-soon
7 May 6, 2012 Insperity Championship −14 (66-69-67=202) 1 stroke United States Tom Lehman
8 Oct 14, 2012 Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn −15 (66-66-69=201) 1 stroke United States Duffy Waldorf
9 Jun 8, 2014 Big Cedar Lodge Legends of Golf
(with United States Jeff Sluman) 		−20 (61-50-48=159) 1 stroke United States Jay Haas and United States Peter Jacobsen

Champions Tour playoff record (0–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2009 Principal Charity Classic Republic of Ireland Mark McNulty, Zimbabwe Nick Price McNulty won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Price eliminated by birdie on second hole
2 2009 The Senior Open Championship Republic of Ireland Mark McNulty, United States Loren Roberts Roberts won with par on third extra hole
Funk eliminated by birdie on first hole
3 2010 Posco E&C Songdo Championship United States Russ Cochran Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open T23 CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship T47
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament CUT T38 T36 T17 CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT T33 T7 T44 CUT CUT T43 CUT
The Open Championship 73 WD
PGA Championship T57 CUT T44 T55 T39 T26 T61 T23 73
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament T37 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT T44 T35 6 T23 T40 T30 60
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT T66
PGA Championship T9 T70 T4 T7 CUT T47 T20 CUT
Tournament 2010 2011
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open T70 CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 1 12 4
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 2 4 22 13
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 2
PGA Championship 0 0 0 1 3 5 18 15
Totals 0 0 0 1 5 10 58 34
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (1993 U.S. Open – 1994 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)

The Players Championship

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Wins (1)

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Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runners-up
2005 The Players Championship 4 shot deficit −9 (65-72-71-71=279) 1 stroke England Luke Donald, United States Tom Lehman,
United States Scott Verplank

Results timeline

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Tournament 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Players Championship CUT T60 T39 T78 T61 T13 T14 T69 T38
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
The Players Championship T13 T33 CUT T45 T10 1 T16 CUT CUT T79 T39
  Win
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships

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Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Match Play R64 R64 R64 R64 R64 R64 R64
Championship T7 NT1 T49 T40 T29
Invitational T2 T14 T61 T41 T42 T69

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Senior major championships

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Wins (3)

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Year Championship Winning score Margin Runner(s)-up
2008 JELD-WEN Tradition −19 (69-66-65-69=269) 3 strokes United States Mike Goodes
2009 U.S. Senior Open −20 (68-67-68-66=268) 6 strokes United States Joey Sindelar
2010 JELD-WEN Tradition (2) −12 (68-69-70-69=276) 1 stroke United States Michael Allen, Taiwan Lu Chien-soon

Results timeline

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Results not in chronological order before 2022.

Tournament 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
The Tradition 11 1 T5 1 T18 T9 T12 T16 T9 32 T4 42 T53 NT T48 WD T71
Senior PGA Championship – T5 T23 T39 CUT T13 T39 CUT T44 T38 76 CUT NT T57 T72
U.S. Senior Open T11 2 1 T43 T50 T2 2 T33 T20 WD CUT CUT NT CUT CUT CUT CUT
Senior Players Championship T11 T3 2 T7 T16 T9 T18 T65 T39 T49 T6 WD WD 70 T71 75
Senior British Open Championship T2 T3 T7 T57 T69 T29 T34 CUT CUT T46 NT CUT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

U.S. national team appearances

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Professional

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 25 2003 Ending 22 Jun 2003" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  2. ^ a b McMullen, Paul (June 5, 1997). "Funk, now in the money, strives to be on the money Former Terps coach seeks major impact". The Baltimore Sun.
  3. ^ a b "Fred Funk – Overview". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Fred Funk – Career". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  5. ^ Harig, Bob (August 10, 2004). "Ryder Cup takes all of Funk's focus". St. Petersburg Times.
  6. ^ a b c d "Fred Funk – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Healey, Katy (July 10, 2013). "Fred Funk playing with fake knee at U.S. Senior Open". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  8. ^ "Funk makes history on way to U.S. Senior Open triumph". USA Today. Associated Press. August 2, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  9. ^ "Fred Funk PGA Pro Endorses Southwest Greens". Southwest Greens. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  10. ^ "TaylorMade-adidas Golf Tour Staff Professionals Fred Funk and Peter Hanson Claim Victories". Golfers Magazine. August 18, 2008. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  11. ^ "Titleist.com Press Releases". Titleist. March 29, 2005. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  12. ^ "Real Patients - Real Stories: Fred Funk". Stryker Corporation. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  13. ^ Martin, Sean (September 18, 2013). "Funk, 57, to play PGA Tour in 2013-14". PGA Tour.
  14. ^ "PGA Tour – Career Money Leaders". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  15. ^ "Champions Tour – Career Money Leaders". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  16. ^ Campbell, Steve (October 13, 2007). "PGA golfer Funk enjoys ties that bind in Houston". Houston Chronicle.
  17. ^ "Fred Funk". Icon Sports Management. Archived from the original on April 9, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  18. ^ Klein, Danny (May 12, 2013). "Sharon the secret to Funk's success over the years". The St. Augustine Record.
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