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CONSTELLATION ENERGY SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 12, 2008

Fred Funk

TIMONIUM, MARYLAND

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Final round 66, you come up one short of Mr. D.A. Weibring, but you did take over the Charles Schwab Cup lead with your finish. A few thoughts, going-free all day but it was quite a battle coming down the stretch.
FRED FUNK: It was. I played pretty good. I did a pretty good bounce back after yesterday's debacle coming in. Just my whole game went south yesterday and put a lot of heat on my putter. The last six holes, I just couldn't -- I wasn't making a save. But it was a combination of mainly ball-striking yesterday and so that's focusing in on the negative and I don't want to do that.
Then switch over after my attitude adjustment, and I went out today with a whole different positive attitude instead of being mad and got it out of my system and went out and enjoyed the walk, the golf, the competition, and just wanted to add it up and not worry about anything, and I managed to do that and I think I did it pretty much 100% today as far as running my head and allowed me to play well and not dwell on what happened yesterday, was really good. Unfortunately came up one short but it was a good tournament.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Can you just go through your four birdies and take us down the stretch if you could.
FRED FUNK: 2, I hit an 8-iron on 2 right behind the hole, probably about ten feet, something like that, and then 9, I hit a really good drive. I still had a 5-iron in and I think I hit a 5-iron and hit it to 20 feet and made a great putt there, big breaker.
12, hit a really good sand wedge in there to about eight feet and made a beautiful putt there, and then the par 3, I almost made one on 15. I hit a 6-iron and just landed right where I thought it needed to land and it to being a hard bounce, went right by the hole, went by, I don't know, 15 feet and had a 12-foot straight down the hill and made a nice putt there.
I gave myself some opportunities. First 12 holes, 13 holes, every putt I hit looked like it was going to go in. That was a good feeling. Literally every single putt went right by the edge or they fell in. So that was really good. So I knew I was putting well.
And then I just got myself in some tough -- well, actually, I shouldn't say that. 16, I hit a wedge that I just miss-hit a little bit and I left it right below the hole. That was probably the first bad putt I hit. And then 17, I hit a great shot in there but it left me a really tough putt. I had that sidehill just past the pin and huge break. It was more, if it goes in, great. But I could have easily 3-putted that.
Then 18, I don't know, what is that, 22 feet, something like that, I really couldn't have had an easier putt as far as where that pin was and where I was on the green. I was putting right up at it and the first part of the putt went right and then it straightened out. I just never got it far enough left.
Hit a good speed and just never had the line. So that was a lit disappointing because I was in just the perfect spot to putt. There are very few places on the green that would allow you to do that.
But D.A., one of the best putters on the planet and I heard he made a nice putt on 17, I didn't see what he did, but 18 was a pretty tough first putt he had to lag down there. I was standing by the green, watching him. Hoping he wasn't going to hit it quite that close.

Q. I heard you tell Roger on TV that your wife gave you a little bit of a talking-to last night to get your confidence back?
FRED FUNK: Yeah, and this morning. She probably wore out her battery in her cell phone last night and calling me and telling me what I needed to do and to get my head out of my ass, basically. It was something we've been working on for years, for three or four years -- well, you always are working on it, but I've been working on it even more with the mental manager in Dallas and Rotella, I've kind of put the two together. It's common sense. It's what you need to do.
Yesterday, I just dwelled on the negative there for a while and got pissed off and I don't know whether it caused me a couple more bogeys than I would have had, who knows, but probably did. It's basically a choice and I made a choice that I was going to enjoy the day and add it up and see what happens. It almost was enough to come back.

Q. After that last putt, did you hit it to where you wanted it to, or was it a miss-read?
FRED FUNK: No, I pushed it off a little bit. It started probably half a cup right where I wanted it and it never had a chance once it got right of the hole.

Q. Now that you're in the Charles Schwab Cup lead, will it change your schedule or anything like that for the remainder of the season?
FRED FUNK: No, I was already playing all three. So I was never wavering from the Champions Tour. In the fall, I'll probably never waver from the Champions Tour the rest of the my career, because I really love the Champions Tour fall schedule. And I don't really like the Fall Series on the regular TOUR; doesn't do me any good; doesn't excite me at all out there. What excites me on the regular TOUR is the FedExCup and trying to see how good I can do on that.
The schedule is so good on the Champions Tour at the end of the year that all of the golf courses and everything that I like, I was always planning on playing out here.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Looks like it's going to be a quite a battle with you and Jay and Bernhard now.
FRED FUNK: Yeah, I thought it was going to be anyway going in. Obviously you've got double points again in Sonoma.

End of FastScripts

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