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U.S. SENIOR OPEN

July 2, 2017

Robert Funk

Peabody, Massachusetts

Q. Woke up yesterday, you had a grind to make the cut. Were you able to enjoy today?
ROBERT FUNK: Yeah, today was a lot better. I had a tough day swinging the golf club, but it was a lot better today. It was a lot less pressure, but I'm trying to shoot under par. Made a couple double bogies, but I came back pretty strong.

Q. How does being able to play with the head pro from the club help you? Did that settle you down? Did he help you much?
ROBERT FUNK: Basically, Kevin stayed out of the way. He was a really nice guy. He hadn't played golf in a couple weeks. He told me he was going to hit some shots. If he got in the way, he told me he'd pick up. He picked up a lot. He was great. It was no problem.

Q. Did you soak it in today?
ROBERT FUNK: Yeah, at the end, I soaked it in. My dad was there, my wife was there, my kid was there, yeah. Finishing was very special today, yeah.

Q. As you look at the week, practice round with Vijay -- as you look at the week as a whole, one or two big highlights from the week?
ROBERT FUNK: So making a 7-footer on the last day to make the cut, and then I think just playing the weekend and standing here with these guys, being able to hold my own and playing in the tournament. It's my first Major. So I'm proud of the way I performed.

I'd like to perform better next time. So I've got some goals. I've got some things I need to work on. I've watched these guys' short games. I've watched the way they putt. I noticed how they hit some shots, and I've got a lot to work on. It's given me more competition.

Q. You pulled a lot out of this week just from a learning experience.
ROBERT FUNK: Absolutely. These guys are really good. They're very good.

Q. Now you've got some other invitations you're going to have, based on your good play, what are you thinking about taking up on? You've got the amateur, the mid-amateur, the senior am.
ROBERT FUNK: Yeah, I looked at all that. The Senior Am, I'm not going to qualify for because I just turned 54. I'm just going to have to try to make the cut next year. Again, the less I have to qualify for, the better. So I'm going to play in the Mid Am.

I was signed up to play in the qualifier for the Amateur. So being exempt to that, and it's basically in my hometown, Riviera in Bel Air, so I don't play there a lot but I can get out. So I'm really looking forward to playing a U.S. Amateur. It will be my first one. I've tried a few times and not played a lot.

Q. Did you ever play in the '16 Am, last year?
ROBERT FUNK: I did not. I didn't try. I had surgery. Surgery on my right ankle last year. During this tournament, I was laid up with a cast on my right ankle. Two years ago, I had a cast on my left ankle. So I was watching this tournament on TV the whole time.

Q. That's got to be a huge goal to play at the Riv.
ROBERT FUNK: Yeah, really looking forward to playing Riv. I'm going to have to work on my driver. I don't think the fairways will be as generous at the U.S. Amateur.

Q. Can this build a lot of confidence as you go forward in amateur stuff?
ROBERT FUNK: Yeah, I think it will. I think I held my own pretty well. I've always been the kind of guy who doesn't -- I'm not a very confident man, so I think this is going to build on some confidence and know that I can actually play.

Q. You're going to stay for the --
ROBERT FUNK: I'm staying, absolutely.

Q. Why wouldn't you?
ROBERT FUNK: Why wouldn't I? Exactly. I moved my plane to tomorrow.

Q. You had a flight for today?
ROBERT FUNK: I did, but not anymore. Actually, it was Saturday. I think I changed my flight from Saturday after making the cut.

Q. It's a good change.
ROBERT FUNK: Absolutely.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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