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. 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 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. 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. 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.
  • 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)

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

! Legend

|-style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|Champions Tour major championships (3)

|-

|Other Champions Tour (6)

|}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.

!Date

!Tournament

!Winning score

!Margin of<br>victory

!Runner(s)-up

|-

|align=center|1

|align=right|Oct 22, 2006

|AT&T Championship

|−12 (65-67-69=201)

|1 stroke

| Chip Beck

|-

|align=center|2

|align=right|Jan 28, 2007

|Turtle Bay Championship

|−23 (65-64-64=193)

|11 strokes

| Tom Kite, Kiyoshi Murota,<br> Tom Purtzer, Loren Roberts,<br> Denis Watson

|-

|align=center|3

|align=right|Jan 20, 2008

|MasterCard Championship

|−21 (67-63-65=195)

|2 strokes

| Allen Doyle

|-style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|align=center|4

|align=right|Aug 17, 2008

|JELD-WEN Tradition

|−19 (69-66-65-69=269)

|3 strokes

| Mike Goodes

|-style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|align=center|5

|align=right|Aug 2, 2009

|U.S. Senior Open

|−20 (68-67-68-66=268)

|6 strokes

| Joey Sindelar

|-style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|align=center|6

|align=right|Aug 2, 2010

|JELD-WEN Tradition (2)

|−12 (68-69-70-69=276)

|1 stroke

| Michael Allen, Lu Chien-soon

|-

|align=center|7

|align=right|May 6, 2012

|Insperity Championship

|−14 (66-69-67=202)

|1 stroke

| Tom Lehman

|-

|align=center|8

|align=right|Oct 14, 2012

|Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn

|−15 (66-66-69=201)

|1 stroke

| Duffy Waldorf

|-

|align=center|9

|align=right|Jun 8, 2014

|Big Cedar Lodge Legends of Golf<br>(with Jeff Sluman)

|−20 (61-50-48=159)

|1 stroke

| Jay Haas and Peter Jacobsen

|}

Champions Tour playoff record (0–3)

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent(s)!!Result

|-style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|1

|2009

|Principal Charity Classic

| Mark McNulty, Nick Price

|McNulty won with birdie on fourth extra hole<br>Price eliminated by birdie on second hole

|-style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|2

|2009

|The Senior Open Championship

| Mark McNulty, Loren Roberts

|Roberts won with par on third extra hole<br>Funk eliminated by birdie on first hole

|-style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|3

|2010

|Posco E&C Songdo Championship

| Russ Cochran

|Lost to birdie on first extra hole

|}

Results in major championships

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1985

!1986

!1987

!1988

!1989

|-

|align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|-

|align=left|U.S. Open

|T23

|CUT

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|-

|align=left|The Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|-

|align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T47

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1990

!1991

!1992

!1993

!1994

!1995

!1996

!1997

!1998

!1999

|-

|align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|T38

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T36

|T17

|CUT

|CUT

|-

|align=left|U.S. Open

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|T33

|style="background:yellow;"|T7

|T44

|CUT

|CUT

|T43

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|-

|align=left|The Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|73

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|WD

|-

|align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T57

|CUT

|T44

|T55

|T39

|T26

|T61

|T23

|73

|}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!2000

!2001

!2002

!2003

!2004

!2005

!2006

!2007

!2008

!2009

|-

|align=left|Masters Tournament

|T37

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|CUT

|CUT

|CUT

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|-

|align=left|U.S. Open

|CUT

|T44

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T35

|style="background:yellow;"|6

|T23

|T40

|T30

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|60

|-

|align=left|The Open Championship

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|T66

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|-

|align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:yellow;"|T9

|T70

|style="background:yellow;"|T4

|style="background:yellow;"|T7

|CUT

|T47

|T20

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!2010

!2011

|-

|align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|-

|align=left|U.S. Open

|T70

|CUT

|-

|align=left|The Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|-

|align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|}

WD = withdrew<br />

CUT = missed the half-way cut<br />

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center

!Tournament !! Wins !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Top-5 !! Top-10 !! Top-25 !! Events !! Cuts made

|-

|align=left|Masters Tournament || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 12 || 4

|-

|align=left|U.S. Open || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 4 || 22 || 13

|-

|align=left|The Open Championship || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 6 || 2

|-

|align=left|PGA Championship || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 5 || 18 || 15

|-

!Totals !! 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)

{|class="wikitable"

!Year!!Championship!!54 holes!!Winning score!!Margin!!Runners-up

|- style="background:#f2ecce;"

| 2005 || The Players Championship || 4 shot deficit || −9 (65-72-71-71=279) || 1 stroke || Luke Donald, Tom Lehman,<br> Scott Verplank

|}

Results timeline

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1991

!1992

!1993

!1994

!1995

!1996

!1997

!1998

!1999

|-

|align=left|The Players Championship

|CUT

|T60

|T39

|T78

|T61

|T13

|T14

|T69

|T38

|}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!2000

!2001

!2002

!2003

!2004

!2005

!2006

!2007

!2008

!2009

!2010

|-

|align=left|The Players Championship

|T13

|T33

|CUT

|T45

|style="background:yellow;"|T10

|style="background:lime;"|1

|T16

|CUT

|CUT

|T79

|T39

|}

CUT = missed the halfway cut<br/>

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!Tournament!!1999!!2000!!2001!!2002!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007

|-

|align="left"|Match Play

|R64

|R64

|R64

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|R64

|R64

|R64

|R64

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|-

|align="left"|Championship

|style="background:yellow;"|T7

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|NT<sup>1</sup>

|T49

|T40

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T29

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|-

|align="left"|Invitational

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|T2

|T14

|T61

|T41

|T42

|T69

|}

<sup>1</sup>Cancelled due to 9/11<br>

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play<br>

"T" = Tied<br>

NT = No tournament

Senior major championships

Wins (3)

{|class="wikitable"

!Year!!Championship!!Winning score!!Margin!!Runner(s)-up

|-style="background:#d0f0c0;"

| 2008 ||JELD-WEN Tradition || −19 (69-66-65-69=269) || 3 strokes || Mike Goodes

|-style="background:#FBCEB1;"

| 2009 ||U.S. Senior Open || −20 (68-67-68-66=268) || 6 strokes || Joey Sindelar

|-style="background:#d0f0c0;"

| 2010 ||JELD-WEN Tradition <small> (2)</small> || −12 (68-69-70-69=276) || 1 stroke || Michael Allen, Lu Chien-soon

|}

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2022.

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament !!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!2012!!2013!!2014!!2015!!2016!!2017!!2018!!2019!!2020!!2021!!2022!!2023!!2024!!2025

|-

|align=left|The Tradition

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|11

|style="background:lime;"|1

|style="background:yellow;"|T5

|style="background:lime;"|1

|T18

|style="background:yellow;"|T9

|T12

|T16

|style="background:yellow;"|T9

|32

|style="background:yellow;"|T4

|42

|T53

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|T48

|WD

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T71

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|-

|align=left|Senior PGA Championship

|–

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|T5

|T23

|T39

|CUT

|T13

|T39

|CUT

|T44

|T38

|76

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|T57

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T72

|WD

|-

|align=left|Senior Players Championship

|T11

|style="background:yellow;"|T3

|style="background:yellow;"|2

|style="background:yellow;"|T7

|T16

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|T9

|T18

|T65

|T39

|T49

|style="background:yellow;"|T6

|WD

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|WD

|70

|T71

|75

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|-

|align=left|U.S. Senior Open

|T11

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|2

|style="background:lime;"|1

|T43

|T50

|style="background:yellow;"|T2

|style="background:yellow;"|2

|T33

|T20

|WD

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|CUT

|CUT

|CUT

|CUT

|CUT

|-

|align=left|Senior British Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|T2

|style="background:yellow;"|T3

|style="background:yellow;"|T7

|T57

|T69

|T29

|T34

|CUT

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T46

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|CUT

|}

CUT = missed the half-way cut<br>

WD = withdrew<br>

"T" indicates a tie for a place<br>

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