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CONSTELLATION ENERGY SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 6, 2007

Fred Funk

TIMONIUM, MARYLAND

DAVE SENKO: Fred, thanks for joining us. Right now your 66 today, 4-under is the low round of the day and you're going into tomorrow right now three shots back. Maybe just get us started, talk about your round today and then we'll get some questions.
FRED FUNK: Well, it was good to shoot 66. I needed to -- I was thinking I needed to shoot a 66, 65, 64, something like that, to narrow the gap. I don't know what Loren is doing on 18, but I barely narrowed any gap, but at least it's separation -- a little more separation from the rest of the field, and it got me in the last group. And that was my goal was to try to get in that last group tomorrow and hopefully get off to a fast start and then keep the pedal to the medal.
It's kind of a golf course that you feel like you need to -- you should be -- you'd like to be 2-, 3-under par, 4-under par after six, seven holes, before you get to 7. 7, 8, 9 are pretty tough -- other than No. 3, and if you hit a good drive on 1, there are a lot of birdie holes in there, assuming you can get it in the right position.
But every day, I've been 1-under or even through that stretch. I think everybody in the field feels like they need to get it going early and then hold on, because the back nine is pretty good.
But fortunately today, I played -- I had a strong finish, so I'm real happy with that.
DAVE SENKO: Birdies, starting at No. 4.
FRED FUNK: Yeah, I hit it just short of the green, probably about 20 yards -- 15 yards short of the green but to the left. Hit a good chip to about four feet and made it.
And then the next hole, 5, I hit a wedge that landed about three feet short of the hole but spun back down the hill and I 3-putted. That was a little unfortunate there. And I missed a close birdie putt on 3, it was straight up the hill and did a 360 and came right at me.
Then 6, I hit a wedge in there, I don't know how long, 12 feet or so, 15 feet. So that got -- that got me going on the front. Made a nice 2-putt on 7, the par 3. It's always good to make your three there.
Then 11, I hit a real nice 5-iron in there, the par 3 just right of the pin and made a 12-footer there.
Then 14, I hit a good drive, 8-iron to ten feet -- at least ten feet, and made that. Then I almost holed it on 15. Made that.
Then made a nice up-and-down on 17.
And then 18 I hit a huge drive and only had 145 to the hole and I debate between 8-iron and 9-iron and ended up hitting the 8 and that wasn't enough, I didn't hit it hard enough. Made a nice 2-putt there. Really tough sucker pin there on 18. You want to try knock it close, but if you miss it right, you're dead.
So I'm pleased overall. I played real solid. I hit it exceptionally well off the tee today which I haven't been doing the first two days, and if I can do that tomorrow, that's what I need to do. On this golf course, it's really important to set up the holes with the tee shots so you can have -- I had a lot shorter irons into the holes than I've had all week, and I was hitting it 20, 30 yards further than I had the first two days, just hitting it that much more solid and straight.
So if I can do that and get the irons dialed in a little more and give me the opportunities, and maybe, I can do something coming down the end. But you've got to play really well more than likely; the way Loren's playing.

Q. How many times have you played this course years ago when you were living in this region?
FRED FUNK: I only played it once and it was in some section event that I don't even know what it was, in '86, I think. Then I came up and played one practice round during Tiger's event at Congressional on Monday. That's it. They really wouldn't let me in the gate here.

Q. How would you describe this set of greens and how they play?
FRED FUNK: Well, they are very difficult. They are probably some of the toughest set of greens we'll ever see, if you've got them up -- if you've got them 11 or faster on the Stimpmeter, they would be almost -- it would be no fun. They would be too fast because there's so much slope on five or six of the holes that you just would have no chance. It would be very difficult to leave yourself uphill, straight uphill putts all day long. The straight downhill putts are tough enough but the sidehill putts are the really hard ones here.
So you've got to be really careful on these greens. You know, like 1 today, right out of the gate, it's sitting right on a slope and the whole green is on a slope. But if you're on the wrong side of the hole, it was very, very difficult. And it puts you on defense, that's what the greens do. You really can't be an offensive putter out here.

Q. What do you think they have slowed them down to, and do you think that's necessary to do that?
FRED FUNK: Well, I think so. You don't want to let them get crazy. They were a little faster today. I think their goal is around ten. I don't know exactly what they are. Some of them, you know, you're so conscious of the slope, and everybody has left some putts short because you're so defensive on the putts and you just don't give it to hit because you're so scared of the run-out on the other side.
They still may be running ten, I don't know, some of them may have them cut the same as others and they may be running nine it because there's more of a slope on them. Any faster than ten, ten and a half would get awfully diabolical out there. You can tell by the scores. There's very few guys shooting way under.

Q. Do you feel the home-field advantage here? I don't know whether people still consider you Maryland zone, but have the galleries been vocal for and you will that be an advantage for you?
FRED FUNK: Oh, very much so. Any time I come home, I think anybody would follow the hometown guy. I grew up in College Park, and I'm definitely a Maryland native through and through. And I'm honored and really conscious of trying to keep my hometown signature or whatever you want to call it. I don't want to lose that, even though I move to Florida, still my roots are here.
I think a lot of people followed my career here in Maryland, just like if you identify with anybody in any other sport, you tend to follow that team or that guy. And I think people, a lot of people followed my career from playing so many years in the Mid-Atlantic Section and playing the Maryland Open and qualifying for a few U.S. Opens and PGAs when I was a club pro.
You know, really not having that great of a junior -- really, no junior record and not that much of an amateur career, but then to go on and have the success I've had on the TOUR to me is even astonishing. It baffles me that I've had as good of a career as I've had coming from where I came from. I put a lot of work in and stuff and I think a lot of people identify with that.

Q. When you used to play the Kemper, a lot of people certainly referred to you -- you had one of the biggest galleries there. Was it the same here or in proportion, and do you think that would be an advantage tomorrow?
FRED FUNK: I think any time you're drawing from the crowd and it feed off the crowd and you're playing well -- I'm wanting to feed off the crowd all the time. And my goal this week was to try to get to the last group on Sunday and have an opportunity to feed off of that.
I do think I get a little more support down in the D.C. area than I do up in the Baltimore area, but it's not that much difference. There's a lot more people at the Kemper and the Booz Allen that come out, and they are more vocal. You just have that big amphitheater on 18 and 17 and 16 at Avenel that creates a pretty good atmosphere so I get a lot of support there.
I really enjoy coming here and I really like everything about the fact that we're playing our Senior Players Championship here in Maryland at a great golf course, very difficult golf course, very traditional golf course. I like that. I'm glad we're at a traditional course and not a modern thing that just doesn't feel like a major, where this one really feels like something special.
Although I think a lot of the guys in the field, I think they are mixed on the way the greens are to be honest with you. But I like them; they are tough. They are going to make everybody mad at some point. You've just got to be careful. It's just not throwing it up on the green with no regard to where the ball is. You know when you hit a shot into the green and you didn't hit it where you wanted to hit it that you've got some work to do, and there's nothing wrong with that in a major.

Q. Does it become a match-play situation with Loren?
FRED FUNK: Not only Loren. Really, I want to play the golf course. I'm not really doing a match-play with Loren. For me it's just go out there and hopefully I can do exactly what I did today off the tee and just give myself opportunities to make some putts and put the heat on them early. But if I don't do that and he gets off to a fast start, it's see ya later, the other way. If he ends up parring 18 today and has a three-shot lead and has a fast shot tomorrow, he can just go and -- it's a hard course to catch up because it's a hard course to make a lot of birdies on, I think.
A lot is going to depend on I think those first six holes tomorrow.
DAVE SENKO: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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