	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

August 1, 2009

Fred Funk

CARMEL, INDIANA

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Fred Funk to the interview area. At 13-under par, he is the leader going into the final round of the U.S. Senior Open Championship. Fred, please share your thoughts about that fact.
FRED FUNK: It's a great fact. I hope I can have that same thing tomorrow night. It feels really good. Still enjoying myself out there. Still playing really good. Didn't play quite as solid as off the tee as I did all week. I've been pretty flawless with the driver all week and to hit a couple of squirrelies.
But, overall, I'm still playing really well and pleased with the way, you know, my attitude is, and the way I'm going after it, and just trying to set up birdies and play aggressive.
THE MODERATOR: Recurring theme, that is your 9-under par in the Par 5s. Is that part of your game plan for the week or does that come as a little surprise?
FRED FUNK: No, that is a little surprise, but I like that. I like that trend. Just like to keep that up tomorrow, obviously, and take advantage of it. It's sure not the fact that it's my power game. I guess my wedge game and my putter are doing pretty good on those holes.
Anyway, there are birdies out there, and still the theme is to go out there and keep the ball in play and keep hitting fairways and that just makes it so much easier to go after the golf course and set up your birdie opportunities. And, if I can do that tomorrow, should be a lot of fun.

Q. What can you take from last week's experience?
FRED FUNK: More just -- you know, I'm just trying to just really enjoy myself, really let it go. And, you know, I was very disappointed when it was all over last week, but, at the same time, I knew I played well on Sunday, I just didn't make a couple key putts when I needed to. And I hit good putts, so, you know, I could still live with myself the way I played.
But I just don't want to play defensive, you know. I don't want go out there -- there is nothing to protect. There's good rounds out there, obviously, guys shooting 68s and 9s and lower. Russ today shot 64. So there are low rounds out there, and you can't control that. So you just got to go out there and play your game, and that's the biggest focus tomorrow.
I'll go out there and I'll look at the leader board, but I won't be, you know, just be more curiosity, and I'll just go after what I -- you know, do what I got to do.
Hopefully, when I get to the stretches that you were talking about, the 14, 13 on in are really tough holes, and, you know, that's when the tournament's going to be won or lost, I would think. I just can't imagine anybody getting off to enough of a spread that those holes won't be an issue. There's too much trouble on all those holes.

Q. Two things. First, are you at all surprised that you have been able to sustain a good level of play given the time difference and the travel and all that went into, you know, what you had to do last week?
FRED FUNK: Well, the only thing I'm surprised is, or the only thing I really felt, I guess, going into Thursday was I wasn't quite prepared for the first round, yet. I didn't feel I knew the golf course that well. I was too tired to take the time to practice the way I wanted to.
I played 18 holes -- no, I played nine holes on Tuesday, and I was so tired I went home and went to bed, never came back out to practice. Then Wednesday played 18 holes and I was just dog tired. I didn't really practice that much, and didn't see enough of the golf course to really feel like I had a comfort level with it like I did last year at Broadmoor.
I didn't play the British last year, and I got to Broadmoor on Friday the week before, and I spent all day every day out there and felt really at peace with those greens they had out there. They were a pretty tough set of greens. It really helped me during the tournament to relax when I was on the greens because I felt like I had seen enough of them I wasn't surprised by anything.
And, no, this week I just didn't know -- you know like 14, it cost me a shot. I didn't even hit a ball from that front fee in the practice round. And I just happen to catch one really solid today. I didn't think it would go through on the line, and even my caddy, went through into just a really impossible lie, and I just hacked it out.

Q. Can you follow up, can you quantify the amount of energy and enthusiasm and all the things that go into playing back-to-back and being in contention in back-to-back weeks in major championships?
FRED FUNK: Well, it's tough. Probably the biggest thing for me that is I got three good night's sleep in a row where I'm finally back on the time clock that, you know, that we're on. It's a lot easier to adjust coming west, I think, than going east. At least for me. I think most people just go to bed early and get up early when you go west. And when you go east, I never did get adjusted to their time.
So the biggest thing is just trying to feel somewhat rested.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about your knee and how it feels. When you were at the depth of your problem, you said it may have to be replaced. Is it bothering you much or how are you dealing with that?
FRED FUNK: During the golf swing it's not hurting me very much at all, if at all, except for when I'm in a sand trap or real uneven lie. Sand traps give me a fit. I can't -- the little torquing of the knee and the instability of the foot in that kind of lie is really tough for me, so I hadn't been able to do that too well.
But the knee overall is really good during the golf swing. Now I can turn all the way into it and I don't get the pain that I used to get. Before I'd get the pain and I'd stop the turn, then I'd lift and that is what messed up my shoulder a little bit. But it's gotten a lot better. It's still really weak and I still have a hard time walking down hills.
Some reason this week -- last week I didn't limp; everybody said I was limping, but I didn't think I was limping last week. And this week I'm definitely limping. I'm having a hard time with getting my stride right. I'm just trying to walk and trying to be as normal as I can because I don't want to mess anything else up and it's just been hard, but it's something I got to deal with. But it's getting better.

Q. Wearing a brace or taking pain killers or anything for it?
FRED FUNK: No pain killers. No, I'm taking an anti-inflammatory. And then I got a brace -- I was wearing a different kind of brace, and then I got a new one at Endicott during the Dick's Sporting Goods thing. I went to see this therapist and he said, I got a brace that's better than the one you had; it's a true one-loader. What that means is it takes the stress where the bones are on the lateral side -- I have no cartilage so they're grinding, and it just helps open it up a little bit so they're not grinding the whole time, and it's little bit of compression. So it's helped me a lot. I wear that brace almost any time I am standing up. So I can tighten it up, and what it does it takes my lower leg and moves it over a little bit to open up that knee.
But eventually I'm going need a new knee, there's no question. I just don't want to be in a hurry to do it. If you asked me a month ago I was ready to go. Six weeks ago I was just ready to hang 'em up. I was going to go to the end of the year and go as best I could then get it done. Right now I'm hoping I can go a little longer.

Q. Fred, that last three holes, the difficulty of the holes, the hole locations they had today, you played minus-three. I mean, that's kind of like hitting a home run.
FRED FUNK: I played minus-one.

Q. I'm sorry, minus one, yeah.
FRED FUNK: 16 I played extremely good. 17, extremely lucky. And 18 was just solid. I didn't hit a very good putt. I was disappointed with the putt. But I hit a good tee shot and had a good angle in, I didn't hit a great iron. I kind of got away with -- I didn't get away with it, but wasn't the exact line I was trying to hit it on. But I was pleased.
Any time you can play those last three under-par or even even-par is pretty good on those holes, especially 17 today with that pin.
I mean, I was looking at 4, 5, definitely -- most likely a 4 and definitely I had 5 in the picture and even a potential 6 if I really screwed up from that lie I had up there on that hill.
One thing I didn't know the water in that lake is just like five yards past where I was. I didn't even know that. I saw the red stakes and I go, Wow, that's the lake on 18. So I didn't know I was that close.

Q. Yesterday you said you also had a torn labrum in your left shoulder; how is that doing today?
FRED FUNK: It's fine once I get loose. On the range it's -- I spend an hour, hour and a half in the trailer and I do things to get loose, the whole body loose, then I spend probably 15 minutes trying to get the shoulder loose in the trailer but it doesn't seem to ever make a difference. When I get to the range, I got to start all over again, and it takes me about, you know, 15, 20 shots with a wedge before I can swing full with a wedge.
One thing I can't do is I can't take a practice swing. My practice swing's killing me and the regular swing doesn't hurt if I swing. Because I got -- as long as I turn the whole way, I turn my body, I take the strain off the shoulder. If I take like a half swing and I don't turn the shoulders the full turn then I lift, that's when my shoulder will grab me. So I don't hit too many punch shots any more. I don't have that shot. So I got to swing -- I got to turn full, as full as I can so it doesn't hurt.
THE MODERATOR: Fred, thank you for your time. Best of luck tomorrow.
FRED FUNK: Thanks.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297