ROUND FOUR:
It was not the kind of a last round that Fred Funk had planned. Playing well for three rounds of the U.S. Senior Open at Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento, Calif., he had scores of 70-68-68 for 206, 4-under-par and within one stroke of the co-leaders.
Then it all came unglued. “Pitiful,” he called it. “It was horrible. Everything was bad — ball-striking, putting, and I played stupid, too.”
The reason for these words? A 4-over-par 74 during which he had one birdie and five bogeys. Trouble came early, as he bogeyed holes 3 and 4, managed a birdie on the par-3 5th, then fashioned four consecutive pars for an out-going 37. Coming back, there were more bogeys on holes 12, 13, and 16, and he finished with two pars for another 37.
“The conditions were tough, the course firm, and you had to control your golf ball and I wasn’t doing it. He paused before adding, “So disappointing.”
ROUND THREE:
Fred Funk made four birdies in his first five holes, dropped back, then finished with a birdie at the 18th hole to complete the third round of the U.S. Senior Open with a second successive 68 for a 54-hole total of 206. He trails co-leaders Bernhard Langer and Jeff Maggert — each of whom bogeyed the last hole to tighten the race — by a single stroke. Eight players share the third spot, including former champions Tom Watson and Colin Montgomerie, the defender.
“Obviously, I got off to a really good start and made some beautiful putts. However, on three, seven, eight, I hit some terrible putts. I felt like I just gave them away because they were simple up-and-downs, simple putts, and I three-putted a couple of them. I made five birdies on the front, but it was those three bogeys that hurt.
“That’s kind of what I was focusing on at that point out there, so when I missed a short putt at 10, on 11 I was really furious. My caddy was working on trying to settle me down and I wasn’t settling down. Finally I did. It was just really frustrating because it was like woulda, coulda, shoulda, but you have to keep going.”
“Then I kind of righted the ship a little bit as far as my putting. I made some really nice three-four-footers for pars on the back nine that kept the round together. Then, I actually hit one of my worst approach shots into 18, pulled it and it rode that bank curve, ended up down by the hole, and I had a six-seven-footer and I made that. The hard part of the golf course — from 13 on in — I ended up playing those holes 1-under. That was a big bonus right there. It was a great way to finish.”
“The course is fantastic. It is very demanding I think, and the best greens you’ll ever putt on. You have to drive it well. If you do, you’ll get rewarded; if not, you end up in rough that is really glue-like. The club just stops dead.”
Of a crowded leaderboard where 16 players are within two shots of the lead, he pointed out, “If you are playing well, you can keep it to 1 or 2-under and if you are a little off, you can maybe scramble to 1 or 2-over, so it kind of keeps everybody bunched. I’ll probably be watching the board because most of the time I want to know what’s going on; hear a roar and I want to know who’s doing it. Sometimes, though, I’ll just grind it out, not worrying about everybody else, not wanting to know and just concentrating on what I’m doing.
“I spoke earlier of the last six holes. If someone plays them really well, he’ll probably be the champion. It will be especially interesting coming down 16-17-18. Those three holes are really tough, [and 15 was played at 636 yards in the third round, the longest hole in tournament history]. And right now, the greens are so firm. They are hard to hold, particularly the par 3’s — 14 and 17. You’re really just trying to get the ball on the green. If you do, you’ve hit a really good shot and if you get it close, it’s by accident.”
For his round, Funk hit 11 fairways (driving distance, 264 yards, 62nd of 72 players), 12 greens in regulation, and used 28 putts.
ROUND TWO:
Fred Funk parlayed two birdies and consecutive par-streaks of seven and nine into a 2-under-par 68, good for a 36-hole total of 138, and was tied for 13th halfway through the U.S. Senior Open in Sacramento, California.
“I played really well today,” he said afterward. “I hit the ball really good and gave myself a lot of chances. Unfortunately, I didn’t make many of them, but I had no bogeys and I’m really pleased with that.” The statistics agreed with him, as he reached fifteen greens in regulation, but needed twenty-one putts.
“The key was not getting in trouble very often. About the only time I did was at 16 where I was over the green, and I had a couple of putts where I had to worry about the second one a bit. The course is getting firmer and faster.
“The setup is really good; you just have to stay out of the rough. I’ve been bothered by a bad elbow and I hit one on 4, the par-5. I just gouged it, trying to hit a hybrid out but the club just stopped and everything [pain] went right through me, through my elbow. The rest of the day it’s been really sore.”
“Then, too, I’ve been struggling with my game lately, but in Boston last week I was finally seeing something positive happen. I got home it was good, and I get here and it’s just getting better every day. So, I’m pleased with that and looking forward to the weekend.”
Pat Tallent, a Congressional CC member from Vienna, Virginia, shot a second straight 75 for a 36-hole total of 150, going 5 over par again, this time with two birdies, seven bogeys. After posting 75 in the first round, Michael Kelly, from Odenton, slipped back with one birdie, five bogeys on each nine to shoot 78 and finish at 153.
ROUND ONE:
Fred Funk, a Prince George’s County native and a former resident of College Park, began the 36th U.S. Senior Open with a par round at Del Paso Country Club, to lead the four players with Maryland ties through the first round. The Sacremento, California course was played at 6,853 yards to a par of 36-34–70.
A one-time Senior Open champion, Funk started on hole number 10, and struggled early on, with three bogeys and one birdie, but turned things around on the front nine with two birdies. He finished with 27 putts to be fourth overall in the category.
Michael Kelly, of Odenton, one of 27 amateurs in the 156-man field, and who qualified with a two-under-par 70 at Lake Presidential Golf Club in Upper Marlboro, returned a five-over-par 75. Congressional Country Club member Pat Tallent, Vienna, Virginia, shot 75, as did Mike Reid, a former Maryland resident who has moved back to Utah.
Kelly’s round included two birdies, five bogeys, and a double-bogey. Tallent, playing with Colin Montgomerie, and Bernhard Langer, bogeyed four of the last five holes on the front, then had one bogey on the back. Reid had no birdies, shooting two-over on the back nine and three-over on the front nine.
On Friday, June 26, Tallent will play in the morning and the other three Marylanders will play in the afternoon. Afterwards, a cut will be made to the low 60 and ties for the last two rounds.
As for Reid, he has encountered the ups and downs of professional golf since he joined the PGA Tour in 1977, but he could not imagine what life would bring on as a grandfather. His granddaughter, Abby, was diagnosed at nine months with Infantile Spasms (also known as West syndrome), a rare, debilitating seizure that occurs in children under the age of 2.
Reid and his wife, Randolyn, moved from their home in Utah to Westminster, Maryland, where Mike’s daughter, Brendalyn Hacking, lives to assist with the medical care. Abby had a hemispherectomy in 2010, and was found to have Type 1 Diabetes last year. Abby, a first grader, has special needs education, but is now able to walk, talk, and feed herself.
With the health situation under control, the Reids have moved back to Utah, are living in an apartment in Provo after a six-year stay in Maryland, and are trying to sell their Carroll County home.
-Reported by the USGA from Del Paso Country Club
