U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

August 3, 2008

Fred Funk

FULLAUDIOINTERVIEW

RAND JERRIS: We are now joined by Fred Funk, Fred at 2-under par for the Championship.

Fred, you were going along fairly steady through the front nine, and pick up at 13.

FRED FUNK: 13, thanks. Well, they had the tees up so I decided to hit a 3-wood, and I just pulled it more than I hooked it and just got over in that high grass and thought I could try to get it -- thought I could get it up somewhere in front of the green, but that pin was so tough, I thought I would maybe have a better shot at maybe getting up-and-down and getting, at worst, a five out of it.

I thought wrong. And I tried to hit a 7-iron, just get it running, and I had to go real upright with my swing, which is not normally what I do, and also had to hold the club about six inches above the ball and well behind it and was so close to cold-topping it -- whiffing it; I did cold-top it, barely caught it and rolled into a horrendous lie. And from there was a debacle the rest of the way, and ended up getting a seven and ending the tournament.

No, it was real disappointing there. I thought maybe, maybe after that, if I could get some birdies coming in, and then I drove it just -- I thought I hit a perfect drive on the next hole, and it goes in the rough again, and I thought if I could make that par putt, then maybe I could get some pressure back on and I missed that, as well.

Looks like the party's over, so just try to hang in there and do the best I can coming in.

Last hole I tried to take it left side of the green and kind of hold an 8-iron and fade it into there and try to hole it, is what I was thinking, and then I end up hitting it left and now I've got to scramble to just make sure I've got second place. So I told my caddie, I said, "I never do anything easy." Should have made second place pretty easy, after I birdied 17, but still had a little nervous two-footer.

But very disappointing. I don't know how much I can say after the way I played that back nine two days in a row, 5-over and 3- over. 8-over on the back in the last two days is not going to win you a championship, that's for sure.

RAND JERRIS: Talk a little about the challenge of the golf course, how it played over the four days and how it played today.

FRED FUNK: The golf course was great. The second day was a tough day with the pins a little tougher. Today we had some really tough pins, as well, and the course was firming up, and it made it a little more difficult to hold the fairways. But very good, it's just the way it should have played. It was a great golf course.

I thought the best player playing would win, was the best one, and that's what I said earlier in the week, and Eduardo did that. He just drove the ball really well when he had to, and just had to do what he had to do, because after I did what I did, he didn't have to do much coming in.

So that's the disappointing thing is that it was kind of an anticlimactic finish, because John Cook had a tough day, and Tom Kite had a tough day, and I had a tough back nine. So it was just kind of a walk in the park for Eduardo after the second half of the back nine.

Q. When Eduardo started having those bogeys down the back nine, did you feel like you had an opportunity there?

FRED FUNK: Well, I thought maybe; I had to make some birdies. I had to make that putt for par on 14, after 13, just to get back to three and maybe get him thinking about it a little bit.

But 4-up with four to go, no, I drove it perfect on 15, and he made a great 2-putt, a great first putt to tap-in. I should have been able to get my wedge a little closer, and I didn't make that putt. I hit a really good shot, I thought, on 16 right at it, but it just didn't carry as far as I thought, so I had to make that one, and didn't. And he made another great 2-putt from way left of the green. He kept hitting shots on the wrong side of the hole.

No, he did a good job of making those couple of pars there when he had to, and I just couldn't put the heat on him. I gave him the lead and I really didn't give him anything to really have to think about, so it was an easy walk for him.

Q. On 13, it looked like you were agonizing a little bit on what to do in that long stuff. Was your ball in a position where you could get a little contact on it there?

FRED FUNK: Yeah, I actually did. In hindsight, I wish I didn't do what I did obviously. And I'm not even sure, I might have been able to whiff it again with a sand wedge. I had my 54- degree out, and I should have just chipped it out and get it past the bunkers and wedge it on the green and take my five and take my medicine and go.

I thought at the time, it was almost between me and Eduardo. I needed to force the issue a little bit, and I just made a mistake. I know better than that. In hindsight, if I make my five there and he made his five, I'm still only 2-down, and on we go. But it didn't happen that way.

Q. What can you say about the crowds this week? Are they pretty big for you guys?

FRED FUNK: No, they were great. They felt like comparable to a regular U.S. Open I thought. The city that we're in, I'm not sure how big the population is here, but it's not like we're in New York or anything, and I think it's a tribute to Colorado Springs and the Champions Tour and the Senior U.S. Open and the venue we played, everything was great. Everybody wanted to come out and see some great golf, and I think they did overall. They saw some of us struggle pretty good, too, and I think they enjoy that, too.

So it was a great week for the support we got from everybody, and the staff that did it, everybody just did a great job, including you guys. The media did a great job, as well.

Q. Where do you go from here?

FRED FUNK: I've actually got a fund-raiser Tuesday in Aspen for the Wounded Warriors, Funk Challenge Aspen. Doing that Tuesday. I'm actually playing a Pro-Am with one individual guy tomorrow to raise; he's paying -- I don't know what he's paying, but he's paying quite a bit of money to play with me tomorrow in Aspen, and that goes all to Challenge Aspen.

And then guy to Vail for a couple of days and Denver. I've never played Cherry Hills, and I'm going to try to play Cherry Hills on Sunday before we head to JELD-WEN in Oregon.

A week off, vacation, a little bit of fund-raising and a good time. So just try to get the major in two weeks. Try to win that one.

RAND JERRIS: Thank you, Fred.