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JELD-WEN TRADITION

August 17, 2008

Fred Funk

SUNRIVER, OREGON

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Congratulations on winning your first major on the Champions Tour, four-round total of 19-under 269 equals the third lowest score in JELD-WEN Tradition history, and your best 72-hole score since you won the 2004 Viking Classic at 22-under. Congratulations.
FRED FUNK: Feels really good to obviously come in and pull it all off. The way I played today, really, almost flawless until 16. Was cruising and really pleased, everything was as relaxed as can be, and then got to 16 tee and got super-conservative with a 3-iron and hit the worst shot of the week. And then I walk off, and we have the rain delay, and that was not easy to deal with, you have all of these negative thoughts. I still have a four-shot lead with two holes to go, which usually should be enough, but I'm just thinking of the worst; don't lay the sod over it, all sorts of stuff.
I was working real hard trying to stay positive coming in, but it was hard during that rain delay. I was so mad at myself that I had a hard time getting refocused and getting positive. But I hit the shot I needed to hit on 17. It wasn't a great shot, but it left me -- I just wasn't going to make a big number from there. Actually hit a perfect putt, I thought for par, didn't break. And 18, I had enough cushion at that point.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Take us through the round if you could, with the birdies.
FRED FUNK: Hit a beautiful 9-iron on 4, probably to about 12 feet.
And actually on 2 and 5 there in the middle. I had two really good runs at them and missed them and then made another nice birdie putt on the par 5, 6, and then coasted in.
Didn't hit a good tee shot on 10 but a good 2-putt.
And 11 I hit a great 8-iron to about eight feet and made that.
Then it was just all cruise control. I actually hit a another really conservative -- when I got conservative, I got myself in trouble. I hit a really good tee shot on 12 with the tees up, and I wanted to go for it, but my caddie decided, no, lay-up and wedge in. And I hit a really bad wedge and 2-putted. Didn't really have a good birdie try at that. And then made a good par save putt on 13 when I ran it by.
14 and 15, I did what I wanted to do. I told Mark, I want to give myself good runs coming in at birdies and see if I can birdie these next two before I get to 16. And I did it. That put me on cruise control.
17, I had 3-wood out and I was going to play pretty aggressive play down there. Could have gotten it way down there and actually maybe with the way the wind was, to run it by the front of the green, and at the last minute, I thought, do I need to do this? And I hit my 3-iron rescue out there, and totally blocked it and ended up underneath the tree in the hazard and just made a mess of the hole from there.
That was frustrating, obviously, and then you have the toughest pin on 17. I wasn't sure what Mike did. Saw him tap-in and wasn't paying attention to whether that was a par or a bogey; I didn't want to ask. And then I made a beautiful 3-iron on 18, and then I asked what he made on 17, and then I relaxed. So I knew I could get it anywhere out there, and was pleased to finish with a nice up-and-down there. Didn't hit a good chip but a nice putt; you don't want to weak it in there. It feels really good. I played extremely good today overall, and I just don't want to take anything negative out of that, what I did on 16 really.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: The birdies at 14 and 15?
FRED FUNK: I hit a 7-iron on 14 to six feet. Had a tough little sidehill putt. It broke about a cup and a half. Hit a great putt there.
15, I hit a real good drive and then pitching wedge in there 15, 18 feet and made that. At that point, 6-under for the day, nobody was doing anything like that, and I knew I had a really big lead at that point.

Q. What did you actually do during the delay? Did you sit around or in the clubhouse?
FRED FUNK: Went in there and was sitting with my son and daughter, and then my wife came up and she was trying to get me refocused and not being negative; I was so pissed off, I wasn't listening too well early. Finally I went outside and when they opened up the range, I couldn't wait to get there and get some frustration out on the range. I was glad we had a little time to do that.

Q. You talk a lot about how when you're playing well -- you go low on the front nine and the back nine is just kind of holding on, that's how it played out --
FRED FUNK: Well, that's how it played out today. I made it look that way. I made three birdies on front and three birdies on the back. So I was in cruise mode, and then obviously I gave them back when I went double-bogey, bogey.

Q. Playing conservative, and maybe putting yourself in that mind-set, it good for you when you're --
FRED FUNK: Mark, my caddie all day was saying all day -- actually on the first tee, it was definitely silent on the first tee. Nobody was talking and we were walking off and Mark goes, "Man, that was just too quiet. Somebody's got to loosen up. We're playing too tight."
All three of us missed the green with sand wedges into 1, and he says, "All right," going down 2, "let's say four behind, you're going to play like you're four behind all day, and made a birdie." And he said, "All right, you're still four behind, because everybody else still made a birdie."
Then when I birdied 11, before that he said, "You're two."
I said, "No, no, I'm still three down."
So we were trying to stay in a mode as if I was down all day; don't protect anything and fire at the flags when you can. And he almost changed my mind. I was going to play pretty safe to that pin on 11, and he said -- because I wasn't sure I really wanted to try to land it up top and let it go over. He says: "No, you're firing at that flag, we have a perfect 8-iron. You're going to take it at the flag."
"Oh, okay." Took it right at it and ended up making birdie. And I didn't want to look at the leaderboard either, and see how I was doing or how somebody else was doing. I didn't hear many roars today, and obviously the scores, when I didn't look at the board, I figured nobody is really doing anything because I didn't really hear anything.
When I finally did see it on 12, I saw that I had a pretty comfortable lead, but was kind of wishing I didn't see it. I knew there was some birdie holes there, 13, 14, 15; 16 is a birdie hole; and 17, 18 you have to hold on a little bit. I made some in that stretch, so nobody could catch me so that was pretty good.

Q. No. 3 seemed to be where it all kind of turned around, both you and Jay missed birdie putts on 2 and 3, on 2 you hit the birdie and 3, Jay 3-putted. What are you thinking at that point?
FRED FUNK: Well, there's a lot of golf left, and holes like -- you've got 5 is a really good hole, 8 is a tough driving hole and when the tee is back like it was today, and there's holes out there that you can make a number on if you just get careless on it.
I've got to stay focused and I just was staying in the mind-set that Mark was putting me in as if I was still behind. I went through that little stretch there, 2 through 6, had birdie putts on every hole, and I made three of them, but just, golly, if I just hit decent putts, would I have had five in a row and see you later, field. But I wasn't quite separated that far.
In my mind, I wanted to just get as far ahead as I can and just basically bury the field, is what I wanted to do. When I got to 6-under for the day, I was doing exactly what I wanted to do. And that was a great feeling. I just wanted to -- if you're in a fight and you're winning the fight, I want to kick them again. That's what I wanted to do. I learned that when I used to be a boxer. You don't want this guy coming back. So when he's down, kick him again. (Laughing).

Q. What does your schedule look like the rest of the year? And if you win a couple more Champions Tour events, having to defend all of those and you throw in the majors on the Champions Tour, what does that do to your goal to play exclusively on the regular TOUR?
FRED FUNK: We'll worry about all that when that comes. All of this is late in the year. That's one nice thing with the FedExCup thing is that it's focused in on a condensed schedule and then you have your Playoffs and your Fall Series. You just deal with it as you go.
I'm really looking forward -- my focus now is hopefully I can stay healthy and keep improving on my game a little bit and move on.

Q. Where will you play now?
FRED FUNK: I'm playing Seattle next week. Probably not playing Pebble, even though I love Pebble. I just need a week off. And then I'm playing everything on the Champions Tour the rest of the way, and then Jackson, Mississippi, on the regular tour. I've won twice there and I want to go back. It's a really good golf course and maybe -- that's my goal, maybe I can beat the young guys out there and get into Kapalua. I've got an indirect goal there.

Q. How does this win compare to the 2005 PLAYERS Championship?
FRED FUNK: Oh, geez, that PLAYERS was big. That's still my biggest win. Obviously a senior major is great, but TPC, the stature that that has; it's not a major but it's quasi-major. They are trying to build it up to be a major and it's kind of up to the media whether you guys are going to make it that big. Obviously you have to rewrite history books and all that other stuff if they do.
That's my new home and it's on an incredibly hard golf course. When I won that one, I had to play 32 holes that day in really Wendy tough conditions and came out on top. That was the most satisfying thing I've ever done in golf, other than making the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams. Making the national teams were bigger than any individual accomplishment that I've ever done, and they make everything pale in comparison to any of the individual wins. I think just representing our country was such a great feeling, and even though we got killed at Oakland Hills, the team I was on, it was unbelievable to be there and be a part of it. It was great to be a victim of a slaughter.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Fred, congratulations.
FRED FUNK: Thanks, thanks for all you guys do.

End of FastScripts

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