U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 11, 1997

Fred Funk

LES UNGER: This is like home court advantage.

FRED FUNK: Yeah, I wouldn't say it's a home court, no.

LES UNGER: I will ask you the question that I probably would ask no other player: How many times have you played at Congressional, formal or informal competition would you guess?

FRED FUNK: Maybe a dozen times, but I hadn't played it since the redo.

LES UNGER: Well, why don't you give us your estimate of what the redo has done for the course or done to you guys.

FRED FUNK: Well, obviously with the USGA setup, it's a lot tougher with the big rough. But, what they did for the characteristics of the golf course, that really made it more visually appealing, I guess. You don't have as many blind shots as you used to. Really don't have any blind shots now. I remember 6 used to be -- as a par 5 was pretty blind off the tee, and then hitting over a mound, you couldn't see the green or landing area. 13, you couldn't see the landing area or much of the green at all. The fairway was way down, and the green was way up. So, visually it's much more appealing. You can see your targets, so it's -- I think they did a really great job as far as that. Conditioning of the golf course, I've never seen it like this before. The greens are the best I've ever seen them, and the fairways are beautiful.

LES UNGER: Interesting what you just said a second ago, the greens are the best you've ever seen them. There has been, over a couple years, some concern or criticism. Do you think that's been overcome?

FRED FUNK: Well, I heard that Senior Open, they were still not quite up to where they wanted them to be, but the changes now are -- they still have the poa annua, but they're running really smooth, and they're going to be up to speed. So, I think it's really a great change, and a lot of effort is -- has been put forth, and it's showing.

LES UNGER: Questions guys and gals?

Q. Fred, do you feel like with the length, do you feel like you're hitting your fairway woods and long irons long enough to go out there and compete?

FRED FUNK: Yeah, I think the key is if I'm driving it well. I haven't been driving it that good the last few weeks. But, the key is to keep it in the fairway, obviously. And as long as I'm hitting it solid, I'm hitting it long enough. I don't have a problem with the length of the golf course. I will be hitting some long irons in and a couple fairway woods. No. 2, I'm hitting a fairway wood into the par 3 if they use the back box, and a couple of the other holes, 6 and 10, some long irons or fairway woods into those. So it has some spots where I have to bring in some long clubs and hit into it, but those are the shots, assuming I hit the fairway, I'm just going to try to hit it in the meat of the green and par is a good number on those holes for anybody.

Q. Frank, you've had a record of struggling in the Kemper. Clearly that's a very different course over there than it is here. What is it about the Kemper course that doesn't suit you and is there anything here that suits you better?

FRED FUNK: Well, the greens are much better over here. I hate to say it, but the greens over at Avenel weren't that good. I don't ever remember them being real smooth, and I always remember them being pretty quick. So you have a tough combination of bumpy and fast over there. And this year, they just had a little more poa in them. I missed a couple putts early. I was hitting the ball really good Thursday morning, and teeing off on 10, and I just missed a couple putts early that I would normally make, and really got thinking of what I've done there in the past, it's the same thing. If I hit it good, I don't seem to putt well there, and I have yet to score. So, I don't know what it is with Avenel. I like the course more and more as I -- as it matures. Visually, it's really nice. I think the holes -- it's a fun golf course to play. You have a lot of risk-reward shots there, but I just -- I put the extra heat on myself every year, and every year I go out and try to relax even more. Now it's kind of compounding. I've missed the cut three years in a row. I was on a streak this year. I hadn't missed a cut since Tucson, and I wanted to keep the streak going, and, you know, that was really my only goal. I wasn't even trying to get in contention. I was trying to make sure I made that cut.

Q. Do you consciously put any pressure on yourself playing here at home and you --

FRED FUNK: Yeah.

Q. Do you think you got that out of your system for this week?

FRED FUNK: No, I don't. You know, I keep reading in here and every other home town hero and stuff and home town heroes don't come into town at their home town and play miserable. I'd like to play -- I like to have my game. I'm not going to grade my game, but I'd like to have my top performance at least once sometime in my home town. This would be a good week to do it, in the U.S. Open. But, you know, it's frustrating to go out on the road and play pretty well and then come home and not perform and not hit the ball the way I normally do or putt the way I normally do or I'm capable of -- let's put it that way -- and then miss cuts. And I feel like a home town goat, you know, after the way I've been playing at Kemper.

Q. Do you find yourself struggling on long courses like this or does your consistency kind of even out and you just approach them all the same way?

FRED FUNK: Home courses aren't a disadvantage as long as the rough is up. Long courses are a big disadvantage if you have wide-open teeing areas, and the big guns can just drill it out there. But, you have guys like Tiger is so long, he won't need his driver. He's going to be trying to hit it in areas that I'm hitting it, but he's got to use a lot less club to hit it there. There's still an advantage. There's no substitute for length. I truly believe that. If you can overpower the golf course, more power to you and more opportunities you get. But, I've played long courses real well in the past, and it's just a matter -- I don't think it matters if the golf course is long or short, tight or wide open, if you've got your game working and if your short game is working, it doesn't matter. You're going to play well. You've got -- Avenel plays pretty long. You have a lot of guys that are potentially -- they're not known as long hitters that have won the tournament over the years.

Q. Have you done things to improve your length over the years or is it basically you know what your max is and --

FRED FUNK: I'm a lot longer than what I came out, but only when I'm hitting it solid. And I probably average probably upper 240s when I first came out, and last year I averaged about 263 or something. So, of course, that varies in conditions we're playing under. I'm definitely a lot -- my swing is a little longer and a little faster.

LES UNGER: Do you have a lot of family around this area still?

FRED FUNK: Yeah, my brother, two sisters and my mom and dad still live here.

LES UNGER: So you have a lot of ticket problems?

FRED FUNK: Yeah, big ticket problems this week and a lot of friends I grew up with, so, last year or every year they take care of me over at Kemper, but here it's -- everybody is the same.

Q. A couple years ago you were a top five player and you had almost as big a cheering section that followed you. Saturday and Sunday some of the local Jacksonville guys so you've played well before with a lot of friends and a lot of -- in a home town setting?

FRED FUNK: Yeah.

Q. Do you think it's different here because there's more family than friends?

FRED FUNK: No, no, it's not that. TPC down there is a golf course I really like a lot. It's in top condition every time we play it. I've putted well there every year. You don't play good unless you're putting good and I'm real confident on those greens and I come up here, I grew up on greens like this poa annua on them, you kind of get spoiled with the greens. We're done? That's quick.

LES UNGER: Good luck.

FRED FUNK: Thanks

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