THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLA

November 7, 2003

Fred Funk

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Fred Funk, thanks for joining you. Currently in second place through 36 holes. Just one behind Charles Howell III. Playing some great golf this week, 68, 67. Maybe just make a couple comments about your round today.

FRED FUNK: Today it was a lot better than yesterday. I drove the ball real good today. I missed three fairways, but overall I drove it really good. And actually I drove it pretty long in some spots. Hit a lot of good irons and just played a real solid round. Yesterday wasn't very solid. I got everything out of that one. Today was much better. I got two of the par-5s, 3-putted 9. Those are the holes that you think where you can make your birdies and those are the holes you think you should make some birdies at. Yesterday I didn't get any of them. So that was a little more satisfying, obviously, but a much better round. Much better ball striking round. A lot better feel today. If I keep moving in this direction, I'll be okay.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Take some questions.

Q. How much has the improving mainly just been because of that one little tip you got yesterday?

FRED FUNK: Yeah, I think so. Not reaching for the ball, which is my biggest swing key is not to create tension in my setup position. That's what I tell everybody when I give a clinic. Don't create tension. And I was reaching for the ball so much that obviously the further the arms get away the more tension it creates. And I was forcing myself up on my toes to get back to the ball. I'm trying to get in a little closer and sometimes I'm over doing it a little bit, which I always tend to do. I'll go one way or the other. I think everybody does that, obviously. You move the ball up, back, too far one way or the other. But overall it was a lot better. I was a lot more relaxed and it seems like I was able to turn the game more into a reactive game instead of initiating everything. My poor shots today were shots where you let your mind kind of take over and you try to initiate things and try to create things. For me, I play good when you -- like you play all the other sports, you react to it, just let it go.

Q. Is this a course that's conducive to any particular kind of player, because it seems like we got a pretty good assortment of long hitters, short hitters and medium hitters mixed in here?

FRED FUNK: Well, the one aspect I think that's not bad for a short hitter like me is that the greens are really big. When I'm coming in with the long irons, I can get them on the greens. And then it's just up to -- hopefully I can get them on the greens and hopefully I can two putt. It's a lot easier.

Like No. 11 today, I didn't hit that good of a drive, but it wasn't bad. It was in the fairway and I had 217 to the hole. The pin's in the back. 40 some yards back there. Just trying to rip a 3-iron in there. I know I can't get to the hole, but I can get it up there. Now, if it was a small green, I'm 217 yards and I don't have much room to put it, that's a totally different shot. So I think in that aspect, as long as I'm hitting it in the fairway and I'm hitting my long stuff solid, then I can get it up there and try to make my pars where I need to make pars and then I got to take advantage of the shorter holes. Like I've done on 14th first two days. I had wedge today, 9-iron yesterday. And birdied it both days.

15, I hit two good drives and had short irons in.

18, with the wind this direction, 18's playing a little shorter than it normally would. It's a toss up though because or it's a back and forth thing, because I think the wind we had earlier in the week 1, 2, 3, and -- well, the starting holes on both sides were downwind. Those are playing really hard. I think 1 through 4 and 10, 11, 12 are the meat of the golf course right now, the way it's playing. It's hard to get off to a good start on both sides. And you know you need to. At least that's how I look at it.

Q. You hear a lot about these things being putting contest, it almost seems like this week it's the best lag putter might win this thing?

FRED FUNK: Well, yeah, it is. Because it's hard to hit it close. Some shots that you think are close are still 20 feet away. Normally that wouldn't be the case. I think any time you're focus is -- the greens are so big it's hard to really focus in on a small spot. If you're hitting the same shots in a course like Hilton Head, small greens, you're more zeroed in and really trying to work it in there. Here you're just -- I think it's just more difficult to get in your mind to focus in on where the pin is. You think you're pretty close, you walk up there and you're 15, 20 feet. To actually hit it stone cold tap-in is I think a rarity out here. Except for maybe the par-5s.

Q. Is it easier to stay patient in this tournament just because the field is so small and every time you pick up a shot you're passing a lot of guys or the course is also a patience golf course also, so.

FRED FUNK: Well then like when I was peeking at the leaderboard, it looked like, or scoreboard, really wasn't a leaderboard, but seemed like a lot of guys were shooting 2- and 3-under today or 1, 2 and under. Well a lot of guys were under par. Let's put it this way. And I don't know what they really started at, but it seemed like it was more under par scores than yesterday today. I don't know whether it was or not. It seemed that way looking at the board. Was it? I don't know.

Q. Yeah, it was better.

FRED FUNK: Better scores today than yesterday? Well I'm kind of surprised, because I think with the colder conditions and the ball wasn't flying as good as yesterday. I thought there was still some really good pins out there. But anyway, the guys adjust to the golf course too and they get used to it. I think the biggest thing that probably changed was that we did play Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with the wind one way and then we come out yesterday and the wind's the other way. So guys have adjusted now after playing yesterday with the same wind pretty much the same direction today. They know what to expect a little more.

Q. All of us focusing so much on Vijay Tiger, Davis, Mike Weir, Player of the Year, do you feel like you can kind of sneak in the back door?

FRED FUNK: I'm just doing my thing. Every week's just a story line. It's great. I think it's fantastic that Tiger, you just don't get an end of the year ballot and check Tiger. There's a lot of issues and a lot of stories, a lot of drama going into the last week. It makes this tournament a lot more exciting. It's fun to watch. It's fun to watch as a player to see how these guys are going to play. We have our own little agendas to do and I know I'm capable of winning the golf tournament. I have enough ability to do that. But obviously I got to play really well. One round is one round. And it's still only the second round. It's great I'm still in a position after two. I got to get into a position after three and then all hell brakes loose on Sunday and see what happens then. It's tough to do it four days in a row. Especially on this long a golf course. I still think, that as soft as it's playing, it's really favors the longer hitters. Just because if it hits the fairway it's going to stay in the fairway. It's not going to run out of the fairway. You can't hit it through the doglegs, because I can't even get to the doglegs, much less hit it through. So it's a pretty long challenging golf course. But with the huge greens, it is a lag putting-type deal. You got to make a lot of five, six footers all day. All week.

Q. You sort of feel like you're playing a spoiler role, four five guys trying to win this tournament to nail down Player of the Year?

FRED FUNK: I would love to be the spoiler. I don't want to give it to them. They won enough money already. The hell with them. I would like to do my little deal. But I just want to continue to play well. I feel like I'm playing good enough -- today I definitely felt like I'm playing good enough to win the golf tournament. Yesterday no way I was playing good enough to win the golf tournament. But today I played the quality kind of golf that I can win this golf tournament or put myself in position to do it. My caddy told me, he wasn't going to tell me all day, but on 18 he says, "I'll tell you when you're done." I said, "What do you mean? I said you got to tell me." He said that ESPN on the pre-game thing yesterday or this morning or yesterday. I think it was this morning. Contender, pretender. And they said they put you at pretender. And I didn't need to tell you that early in the round because you were just cruising along pretty good, but if you needed a little poke in the butt, he was going to tell me. So I did birdie 18 after he told me that, so.

Q. It's true, I saw that.

FRED FUNK: So I get a kick out of the media. All these guys, I don't know why they think that a guy at the end can't win this golf tournament. Anybody can win this golf tournament. You see it all year long. Shaun Micheel.

Q. Ben Curtis?

FRED FUNK: Ben Curtis. See, I didn't even know who he was. Ben Curtis. And it's just guys are really good top to bottom.

Q. What does a win, this win, this event, do for you going forward?

FRED FUNK: If I won here, it would be my biggest win, I think. Obviously with the strongest field. Even though it's a small field, it would be a huge win. I'd love to get to the Tournament of Champions again and it'd be a nice two year exemption, take me right to the Champions TOUR and then I wouldn't have to worry about anything. Not that I'm going to worry about that anyway, I don't think. Hopefully not. Yeah, it would be nice. It would be nice to be in an elite field like this. Where I came from and where I am in my life to beat a, to say you beat an Ernie Els and Tiger and Davis and all these guys coming in here, Vijay, guys that have had great years and great ability, that would be unbelievable. But I'm a long way from that. 36 holes is a long, lot of golf.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Let's go through your birdies and bogeys real quick. Just one bogey today. Let's start with number five.

FRED FUNK: Yeah, I finally got a par-5. I hit a really good drive and hit a 4-iron in the front bunker. I had an easy bunker shot and -- well it should have been an easy bunker -- and I ended up hitting it out pretty close to a gym me.

6, I hit a drive and a 6-iron to about, looked like it was close, but I was a good 15, 20 feet. So that was one of those I thought I was really close, the crowd was going crazy, I walk up there, thought I had a three-footer and I'm 20 feet.

7 got me again. Same as yesterday. The only bogey again. I drove it in the right rough, had to hack it out, and made my bogey there.

3-putted 9. And then I birdied 13. I hit a driver, 3-wood just short of the green, chipped up to gimmie.

Hit driver, wedge on 14. To two feet.

18, I hit driver, 7-iron to about 8 feet. 10 feet. And made that.

Good up-and-down on 17. I hit a bad drive there and had an iffy lie and got it to the front of the green and made a good up-and-down short of the green.

Q. Just to follow-up on that ESPN thing, do you feel like because people perceive you to some extent, using that poll as an example, as a pretender? Do you feel like you always have to prove yourself out here even at this time of your career?

FRED FUNK: No, I know I'm a good player. I think the people believe I'm a good player. But they got to pick somebody as a pretender. As the underdog. So I accept the underdog role. Because I truly am an underdog. Realistically, to beat this entire field would be an upset. But I know I'm capable of doing it. And I love, would love to be able to do it. But we'll see what happens. I'm not upset about it. It's fine. Whatever they think.

Q. Just so you know, just about everybody I think was a pretender in there with the exception of one person. And I don't remember who that was. I think it was a fan poll actually.

FRED FUNK: It was a fan poll? I didn't see it, my caddy told me about it.

Q. You generally have been a guy who plays quite a bit during the year, and you have gotten to this point, you don't seem tired. I'm just curious how you go about pacing yourself during the year and how that works for you?

FRED FUNK: I haven't learned to pace myself yet. I play a lot. I think this is my 33rd event. I usually play 31 or 32. I played a couple extra this year because I was chasing that Presidents Cup spot. I wore myself out right in that stretch. I. I wasn't playing good golf and I was playing hurt. I was playing poor. I shouldn't have been playing. And that little stretch was really wearing me down. I went to the PGA and I kept playing going into the PGA. I was dog tired going into the PGA. And then played really well there. I had a golf course that I liked. It seems like I like golf courses that are hard. When you shoot a 68, 67, it rewards you. That's the kind of golf I like playing. I don't like playing the ones where you got shoot 64, 65. And just to maintain pace. Or 68 just to maintain pace. It doesn't do you much good. I don't like those birdiefests. So next year I'm planning on, hold me to this, 26 events. I looked at the schedule, I'm going to do 26. My caddy couldn't believe me. He said, oh, that's not going to happen. But I do play a lot. But I do have an outlook that I play golf professionally, I play it for a living, it is my job. I love my job. Even though when I'm not playing well I still love my job. I remember where I came from. I'll never forget it. It is my 15th year on TOUR. It took me, I was 32 when I was a rookie and it's just I pinch myself a lot to think of what I've achieved, what I have achieved personally in my career is more than I ever thought I would have. If you asked me 15 years ago when I was punching the register at the University of Maryland and trying to be a golf coach, I've come a long way. I really enjoy it out here. I love the camaraderie with the guys. That's one thing I miss when I do go home is just the kind of hanging out with my -- I hang out with my family all the time but coming out here and competing, I love to compete and just see good golf. Even if the guy is beating my tail all day long. I love watching it. The guys out here are just so good it's fun to watch. I enjoy that.

Q. Did you recruit any of these guys when you were coaching?

FRED FUNK: I didn't recruit anybody that could beat me. I was playing for their food money. That was my supplement to my income. My caddy played for me. But I never -- I couldn't recruit any of the blue chippers. They wouldn't come to Maryland. It was too far north. But it was a great way to learn. I learned a lot then. And I can definitely, I think, tell kids now what a lot more. I know I could now. If I went back to coaching or wanted to help a golf team out, I could tell them a lot what have to do. I don't think a lot of kids don't realize how hard of work the guys really work out here. How hard they work at their games. And that's the one thing I noticed when I was coaching, very few of them really put the time in to get to that next level. Anything else? I hope to see you guys.

End of FastScripts.