Frederick Funk (born June 14, 1956) is an American professional golfer. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He previously played on the PGA Tour, where he was an eight-time winner. Funk's signature win came at The Players Championship in 2005.
Early life Funk was born in Takoma Park, Maryland. He tried several sports, and even boxed for eight years for a junior boys club. He played on the golf team at High Point High School in Beltsville, Maryland.
Amateur career Funk went to the University of Maryland (UM) but was cut from the golf team in 1975. He transferred to Prince George's Community College and then returned to UM two years later to earn a top spot with the Terrapins golf team. At the time he also held a job as a circulation supervisor for the Washington Star. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1980 with a degree in law enforcement.
Professional career In 1981, Funk turned professional. He worked as the golf coach for University of Maryland from 1982 to 1988.
After playing in a few PGA Tour events for several years beginning in 1982 but with little success, Funk finally became a member of the PGA Tour in 1989, playing in 29 official tournaments. He earned his biggest paycheck with $12,500 in a tie for ninth in the Chattanooga Classic.
In 1990, he struggled with consistency, missing the cut in nearly half the tournaments he entered. However, there were some bright spots, including a T-3 to earn $34,800 in the Chattanooga Classic as well as a fifth-place finish in the Buick Open to pocket $40,000. In 1991, he had slightly more success, with top-10 finishes in five tournaments.
Funk broke through in 1992 with his most successful year to date, including his first PGA Tour win. In May, he captured the Shell Houston Open with a 16-under score for a two-stroke win over Kirk Triplett and winnings of $216,000.
In 1995, he won his second PGA Tour tournament with a score of 16-under at the 1995 Ideon Classic at Pleasant Valley, for which he earned $180,000. He followed that up with a win just two months later at the Buick Challenge, with another 16-under for $180,000.
Funk was a member of the United States teams at the 2003 and 2005 Presidents Cup and the 2004 Ryder Cup. He received some criticism in 2004 for opting out of The Open Championship, one of the tour's four major tournaments, despite having qualified. He played instead in that week's B.C. Open, a much less prestigious event, but one which also offered Ryder Cup ranking points.
In 2005, Funk scored his biggest PGA Tour win when he captured The Players Championship, also becoming its oldest winner at 48 years, 9 months, 14 days by defeating Tom Lehman, Scott Verplank and Luke Donald by a stroke. He earned $1.44 million for the win.
Senior career Since turning 50 in June 2006, Funk has been eligible for Champions Tour events and debuted in the 2006 U.S. Senior Open. When he turned 50, he still featured in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
He won a further PGA Tour tournament, his eighth career win, in 2007 after his senior debut, becoming only the second over-50 player to win on the PGA Tour in 31 years. That win came at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun. By winning, Funk became the first man to win a PGA Tour event held in Mexico and, at age 50 years, 8 months and 12 days, became the fifth-oldest champion in PGA Tour history and the oldest since Art Wall Jr. (51 years, 7 months, 10 days) at the 1975 Greater Milwaukee Open.
In August 2008, Funk won his first senior major, the JELD-WEN Tradition.
After years of chronic knee pain, Funk underwent a total knee replacement in 2009. Later that year, on June 8, 2009, he became the oldest qualifier, at age 53, for the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black by shooting 139 over 36 holes at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland, surviving a playoff. In August 2009, Funk won his second major championship on the Champions Tour at the 2009 U.S. Senior Open at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana. Funk dominated the rest of the field and cruised to a six-stroke victory over Joey Sindelar.
With his third senior major victory at the 2010 Jeld-Wen Tradition, he became the first player to win a PGA Tour-sanctioned event after knee-replacement surgery.
Funk's fans are referred to as "Funk's Punks." Two songs — Play That Funky Music and Give Up the Funk — have become theme songs for the Funk's Punks.
Funk has publicly endorsed a number of products including clubs, greens, and golf balls. He maintains professional relationships with Southwest Greens, TaylorMade for its clubs, Titleist golf balls, and Stryker Orthopaedics.
As of the 2013–14 season at age 57, Funk still played in several PGA Tour events a year while devoting most of his time to the Champions Tour.
At the end of the 2013 season, Funk ranked 38th in career PGA Tour earnings with just over $21 million in earnings. He ranked 23rd in all-time Champions Tour earnings with over $9.1 million.
Personal life In the 1980s, Funk got married for the first time. He has a son, Eric Justin, born in 1991. He was divorced in 1992.
In 1994, Funk married Sharon (née Archer), the daughter of Texan congressman Bill Archer. They have two children. Their son, Taylor Christian, played golf for Ponte Vedra High School and won the Florida 2A state championship. Taylor turned professional in 2017.
Awards and honors Funk was inducted into the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame. Funk has been enshrined into Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame.
Professional wins (29) PGA Tour wins (8) Legend Players Championships (1) Other PGA Tour (7) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1May 3, 1992Shell Houston Open−16 (68-72-62-70=272)2 strokes Kirk Triplett2Jul 30, 1995Ideon Classic at Pleasant Valley−16 (66-63-66-73=268)1 stroke Jim McGovern3Oct 1, 1995Buick Challenge−16 (69-67-69-67=272)1 stroke John Morse, Loren Roberts4Sep 22, 1996B.C. Open−16 (68-66-63=197)Playoff Pete Jordan5Jul 19, 1998Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic−18 (69-64-69-68=270)2 strokes Paul Goydos, Franklin Langham, Tim Loustalot6Oct 3, 2004Southern Farm Bureau Classic (2)−22 (69-67-64-66=266)1 stroke Ryan Palmer7Mar 28, 2005The Players Championship−9 (65-72-71-71=279)1 stroke Luke Donald, Tom Lehman, Scott Verplank8Feb 25, 2007Mayakoba Golf Classic−14 (62-69-64-71=266)Playoff José Cóceres
PGA Tour playoff record (2–3) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11996B.C. Open Pete JordanWon with birdie on first extra hole21996Buick Challenge Michael Bradley, Davis Love III, John Maginnes, Len MattiaceBradley won with birdie on first extra hole31998Buick Challenge Steve ElkingtonLost to par on first extra hole41999B.C. Open Brad FaxonLost to par on second extra hole52007Mayakoba Golf Classic José CóceresWon with birdie on second extra hole
Other wins (12) 1977 Middle Atlantic PGA Championship 1978 Middle Atlantic PGA Championship 1979 Middle Atlantic PGA Championship 1983 Maryland Open 1984 Foot-Joy PGA Assistant Professional Championship 1987 Maryland Open, Middle Atlantic PGA Championship 1988 Middle Atlantic PGA Championship 1989 Middle Atlantic PGA Championship 1993 Mexican Open 2005 Merrill Lynch Skins Game (unofficial money event-PGA Tour), CVS Charity Classic (with Chris DiMarco)
PGA Tour Champions wins (9) LegendChampions Tour major championships (3)Other Champions Tour (6) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Oct 22, 2006 AT&T Championship−12 (65-67-69=201)1 stroke Chip Beck2Jan 28, 2007 Turtle Bay Championship−23 (65-64-64=193)11 strokes Tom Kite, Kiyoshi Murota, Tom Purtzer, Loren Roberts, Denis Watson3Jan 20, 2008 MasterCard Championship−21 (67-63-65=195)2 strokes Allen Doyle4Aug 17, 2008JELD-WEN Tradition−19 (69-66-65-69=269)3 strokes Mike Goodes5Aug 2, 2009U.S. Senior Open−20 (68-67-68-66=268)6 strokes Joey Sindelar6Aug 2, 2010JELD-WEN Tradition (2)−12 (68-69-70-69=276)1 stroke Michael Allen, Lu Chien-soon7May 6, 2012 Insperity Championship−14 (66-69-67=202)1 stroke Tom Lehman8Oct 14, 2012Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn−15 (66-66-69=201)1 stroke Duffy Waldorf9Jun 8, 2014 Big Cedar Lodge Legends of Golf(with Jeff Sluman)−20 (61-50-48=159)1 stroke Jay Haas and Peter Jacobsen
Champions Tour playoff record (0–3) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result12009Principal Charity Classic Mark McNulty, Nick PriceMcNulty won with birdie on fourth extra holePrice eliminated by birdie on second hole22009The Senior Open Championship Mark McNulty, Loren RobertsRoberts won with par on third extra holeFunk eliminated by birdie on first hole32010Posco E&C Songdo Championship Russ CochranLost to birdie on first extra hole
Results in major championships Tournament19851986198719881989Masters TournamentU.S. OpenT23CUTCUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipT47
Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999Masters TournamentCUTT38T36T17CUTCUTU.S. OpenCUTT33T7T44CUTCUTT43CUTThe Open Championship73WDPGA ChampionshipT57CUTT44T55T39T26T61T2373
Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009Masters TournamentT37CUTCUTCUTCUTCUTU.S. OpenCUTT44T356T23T40T3060The Open ChampionshipCUTCUTCUTT66PGA ChampionshipT9T70T4T7CUTT47T20CUT Tournament20102011Masters TournamentU.S. OpenT70CUTThe Open ChampionshipPGA Championship
WD = withdrew CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 1 12 4U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 2 4 22 13The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 2PGA Championship 0 0 0 1 3 5 18 15Totals 0 0 0 1 5 10 58 34 Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (1993 U.S. Open – 1994 PGA) Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)
The Players Championship Wins (1) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up 2005 The Players Championship 4 shot deficit −9 (65-72-71-71=279) 1 stroke Luke Donald, Tom Lehman, Scott Verplank
Results timeline Tournament199119921993199419951996199719981999The Players ChampionshipCUTT60T39T78T61T13T14T69T38 Tournament20002001200220032004200520062007200820092010The Players ChampionshipT13T33CUTT45T101T16CUTCUTT79T39
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place.
Results in World Golf Championships Tournament199920002001200220032004200520062007Match PlayR64R64R64R64R64R64R64ChampionshipT7NT1T49T40T29InvitationalT2T14T61T41T42T69 1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = Tied NT = No tournament
Senior major championships Wins (3) YearChampionshipWinning scoreMarginRunner(s)-up 2008 JELD-WEN Tradition −19 (69-66-65-69=269) 3 strokes Mike Goodes 2009 U.S. Senior Open −20 (68-67-68-66=268) 6 strokes Joey Sindelar 2010 JELD-WEN Tradition (2) −12 (68-69-70-69=276) 1 stroke Michael Allen, Lu Chien-soon
Results timeline Results not in chronological order before 2022. Tournament 200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Senior PGA Championship–T5T23T39CUTT13T39CUTT44T3876CUTNTT57T72WDThe Tradition111T51T18T9T12T16T932T442T53NTT48WDT71U.S. Senior OpenT1121T43T50T22T33T20WDCUTCUTNTCUTCUTCUTCUTCUTSenior Players ChampionshipT11T32T7T16T9T18T65T39T49T6WDWD70T7175Senior British Open ChampionshipT2T3T7T57T69T29T34CUTCUTT46NTCUTCUTCUT
CUT = missed the half-way cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
U.S. national team appearances Professional Ryder Cup: 2004 Presidents Cup: 2003 (tie), 2005 (winners) UBS Cup: 2002 (winners), 2004 (winners) Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing Champions Tour): 2007, 2008 (winners), 2009, 2012, 2013
See also 1988 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 1989 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
Notes
References
External links