MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS

January 7, 1999

Fred Funk

FRED FUNK: Actually, I was very -- I always have very positive thoughts when I come. I've played here, I don't know how many times, a lot, in the Invitational event. I've had very little success here. I think it's a big-hitters golf course. These greens drive me absolutely crazy with the grain. I've come off a stretch where I haven't been hitting the ball good at the end of the year, didn't play much the last three weeks. I have a swing key I've just kind of stumbled on the other day, talked to my teacher. He gave me something to work on, it's working right now. I was standing on that first tee, had no idea what to expect. Like I said, hadn't been hitting the ball well, not real comfortable with this golf course, I wanted to get off to a really good start, wasn't sure how I was going to go about doing it. I was pretty uptight. I was really uptight all the way through the whole round really. But I played really solid. I had by far the best putting round I've ever had here. Got on the wrong side of the hole a lot, I putted very defensive, made sure I was making my 2-putts. I made a couple putts -- I made two putts on 13 and 18 that were very tough putts, one dead down the green, one dead into the green with huge breaks on them. I made them both. That was unexpected. I missed a couple that I could have made, but I played really solid. I missed one fairway, I missed one green, got up-and-down on the green I missed on 8. You know, other than that, I played really solid, just a good, solid round. I'd love to play as solid as I did today for the rest of the year. That would be really good. It was unexpected, really.

FRED FUNK: I probably only played this course in one or two rounds other than this week where the wind has not blown or blown the opposite direction. It's definitely a big difference. The course was designed for Trades with 17, 18, 1, driving area on 9, you should be hitting into it. I plays totally different. Today there was such a lack of wind that you really could hit the club for the yardage. That's something that you're not used to doing here. You're still guessing on the downhill and the amount of release you're going to get with the grain. You don't have that other element with the wind blowing 30 miles an hour behind you or into you, trying to figure out what to do. The course is in great shape. The scores are going to be low. I think they'll continue to be low unless we get horrendous weather coming up.

FRED FUNK: I birdied 5, 2-putt birdie. I was on the left side of the green about 50, 60 feet, putted down a couple feet away. Then 9, I was just on the front of the green. I chipped up about a foot away. 2-under on the front. Up-and-down on 8. Then 12, I had about a 12-footer in there, I guess. Then 13 was unexpected. I hit it 15 feet going back into the green, right-to-left. Probably had a five-foot break to it at least. I made that one. That one was unexpected. Then 15, I was just short of the green. Chipped by about eight feet, made that. Then 16, hit a sand wedge in about 12 feet, I guess, ten feet, who knows. Then 18 I had a sand wedge in, 25 feet. That was another bomb I made there. Just real fast, six-foot break, just swung it in there. Just trying to 2-putt, ended up making it.