U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 31, 2008

Fred Funk

FULLAUDIOINTERVIEW

Q. Pretty easy course, I take it?

FRED FUNK: No. It was a good day. Obviously I got off to a ridiculously good start. Actually I played good all day. I had a lot of opportunities. I missed after I got off to a great start.

And 18, it never feels good to bogey 18, but I hit a good tee shot, but it ended up in that first cut and the ball was just sitting down and it just doesn't come out when it's like that. It's really thick.

Q. What about energy coming out on 16 and 17 as you were finishing up your day there?

FRED FUNK: I had plenty of energy. I'm not that old. I just kept hitting really good shots. I had birdie opportunities a lot. I can't really think of my round hole-by- hole at the moment, but I probably had five or six other really good birdie shots from either close or the proper side of the pin, and hit some good putts that didn't go in. And it's nice when you hit it stoney.

I hit two shots, they were tap-ins on 2 and 16, so those were always nice because they don't stress you out in.

And then 17 I hit a putt that just made it in by a dimple turn. So that was nice. It was a good day. You can't be displeased with a 65 on this course or any course.

Q. Did you feel like you had a good swing going and it could be a good day?

FRED FUNK: Actually I've been really working on trying to get stretched out. I got pretty sore when I got here, and then two nights ago I went to Seven Falls at night with my family and I did all 400-and-something steps, and my legs were killing me. And that was probably a big example of stupidity. But it was really pretty that night. I went up the one set and saw the other set and decided to go up those. And my legs were a little sore.

I went to an ART guy this morning for my back and legs and hips, and worked in the trailer with a guy, with three guys in there. I got stretched out by four different people this morning and then stretched out myself. I spent about three and a half hours just stretching before I even went to the range, just trying to get loose. And I'm still real tight in here, and I can't even bend down to line up a putt, my thighs hurt so much.

I've just been working on that. I'm waiting for this lactic acid that's in my body to go away.

Q. What night was that you went up Seven Falls?

FRED FUNK: Two nights ago. It was beautiful, though. It was really worth it.

Q. How did you feel about the greens after your practice round, and did you surprise yourself today?

FRED FUNK: I made a really nice putt on 3 for eagle, and then I made another long one just across the top of the green on 4. And that was after my tap-in on 2, so 4-under through four, that's a really good start.

And I seemed to be on the proper side of the hole almost all day, except for on one or two holes where I really had some tough putts.

And then 18, I was yet to putt up that slope, and you've got make sure you get it there, and I hit a little too hard, and I really completely misread the second putt. That one totally baffled me. I was playing it dead straight, and it went pretty hard right. And no way it looks that way. Looks like it would go the other way if any way to me.

Overall it was a good day as far as adjusting to the greens. I think the USGA did a great job of setting up the golf course, and you know, they've been really cognizant of asking guys' opinions and how is the golf course playing and being out there and watching.

You know, this generation of USGA guys really understand what they're doing versus some of them. They seem to be more open-minded and not as penal, I guess is the word to use. It's just not as -- they have got the graduated cuts, and the rough is still tough, but the greens, they've got them at a good speed, so it's a really good test.

I don't know what the overall scores are. I hadn't really seen them yet, but I know the golf course played tough. Seemed like it played pretty fair.

Q. Quick turnaround for playing tomorrow morning. You mentioned the stretching?

FRED FUNK: I'm getting up really early tomorrow. I'm going to get up about 5:00 and start the whole routine again. I just have to get stretched out. I had this knee operation and my knee is pretty bad because of these hills. I had to really brace myself on one of the bunkers, and my knee's not really strong enough to do that yet. So I irritated it pretty good.

Q. I believe on 18 you looked over at the Will Rogers shrine. How much did that help you out today, and how many times did you find yourself looking at that?

FRED FUNK: I'm more looking at that mountain, than if you can find the shrine, because sometimes on the green the shrine itself is blocked out from the trees.

But yeah, I've been looking at that. I got here last Thursday night, and I've been practicing Saturday since, and that's our landmark, and that's what everybody said. You go off of that, and there's only two greens that really that doesn't apply. And I made those actually on 3 and 17.

Q. And you and Peter Jacobsen seem to have a good thing going. How was that?

FRED FUNK: We had a great group. We were a fast group. We all play at a good pace, and we were pretty laid back, and we were having fun with the crowd and having fun with each other. And that's always fun. It makes it a whole lot of fun.

Again, I read that in the article this morning, the chicken-or-the-egg thing: Do I play good and then I act okay, or do I act like I'm having fun and then I play good. I think when I'm having fun, my game seems to rebound on that, so that's what I like to do. I like interacting with the guys and interacting with the crowd a little bit, as much as I can, anyway.

Q. Early on were you two feeding off each other. He was playing pretty strong.

FRED FUNK: Yeah, he was 3-under through three, and I made the putt on four. Peter is Mr. Bionic right now. I think he has an artificial knee, artificial hip, all sorts of other issues. He's doing pretty good. His body is not the Jac of old, of young. And none of ours is, but Jac is doing a great job, and he got off -- I was really pulling for him to keep it going, and he hit a lot of good putts. They just didn't go in. They looked out and caught the edge like 18. 17 he did it and 16. Last three holes -- no, four holes in a row, he had horseshoes. So he could have had a really good round.