Rod Funseth

James Rodney Funseth (April 3, 1933 – September 9, 1985) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour (now PGA Tour Champions).

Amiable and low-key but less than confident, Funseth was one of longest hitters and fastest players of but better known for a pessimistic attitude toward his game, He claimed that his "I'll never be able to make that shot" mental attitude of lowered expectations helped motivate him to play better. He was especially self-deprecating on his lack of putting prowess.

Early years

Born and raised in Spokane, Washington, Funseth's father was a men's clothing store operator and salesman, born in Sweden. Rod competed with his older brother Carl for city junior titles and graduated from North Central High School in 1951. Funseth briefly attended the University of Idaho in Moscow to study civil engineering, but did not graduate. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

Funseth returned to Spokane after a semester and worked in various jobs in Washington while competing as an One of these brief jobs was as a civilian draftsman at the Bremerton Navy Yard, west of Seattle. He won the British Columbia Amateur in 1956 and turned pro that fall, first in Palm Springs, California. In 1959, Funseth became an assistant pro under Masters champion Claude Harmon back east at Winged Foot, north of New York City and later at Thunderbird in Palm Springs. Funseth entered a handful of tour events in 1962, and received sponsorship of $800 per month from Spokane's Athletic Round Table (ART) in 1963 to allow him to play full-time. He played out of Esmeralda, a municipal course in east Spokane built in the mid-1950s. It was initially funded by ART (land and clubhouse) and was named for the group's mascot, a grinning cartoon mare. Funseth had the smiling horse insignia on his tour bag for several years, which invited frequent inquisitions. Keeping meticulous records of all his earnings, he reimbursed the ART to the last dollar.

PGA Tour

Funseth played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1963 through 1979 and won three tour events. The first was the Phoenix Open Invitational in 1965 at the Arizona Country Club, which came a week after losing a final round lead at the Bob Hope Classic in Palm Springs. Funseth's second win came eight years later at the Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open, the season-opener in 1973 at Riviera. His final PGA Tour win came at age 45 in 1978 at the Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open, which paid for his horse barn.

His best finish in a major championship was just months earlier, a tie for second at the Masters, one stroke behind Gary Player. Funseth was in the last pairing on Sunday and had a three-under 69, but Player carded a record-tying 64 (−8) for his third green Funseth birdied the par-5 15th hole, but parred the last three, with a putt left on the lip at the 16th and another narrowly missing on the final hole to force a playoff.

Funseth was known on tour as an avid fisherman, a passion shared by Johnny Miller, his next-door neighbor in Napa, and Jack Nicklaus. The three played in an exhibition golf match in Spokane in 1975, a rarity for Nicklaus at the time.

Senior Tour

Funseth became eligible to play on the Senior PGA Tour after reaching age 50 in April 1983. He had a great deal of immediate success, winning the unofficial Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (team event with Roberto De Vicenzo) in early May, and a nine-stroke victory at his tour debut at the Hall of Fame Tournament three weeks later in North Carolina at Pinehurst No. 2. Funseth also finished second to Billy Casper in a sudden-death playoff at the U.S. Senior Open in July.

Cancer

His career on the over-50 tour was cut short by terminal cancer, attributed to exposure to asbestos at the navy yard in Bremerton in his late teens. Told by physicians in January 1984 that he had four months to live, Funseth continued to play well on tour, and returned to defend his team title at the Liberty Mutual Legends in late April. He competed in 17 events in 1984, with three runner-up finishes and nine in the top-10, despite losing weight and strength. Funseth won a match play event in October in Maine, besting Bob Toski 2-up in the final for a winner's share of $30,000. Although a non-tour event, it included most of the top senior players of the day.

Death

Funseth's condition declined in 1985 as his body weight was reduced to by September and his breathing assisted with oxygen. He died at age 52 at his home in Napa, California, beside the 12th hole of the Silverado Country Club, next door to friend Johnny Miller. In 1999, he was inducted posthumously into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame.

Personal

Funseth was survived by his wife Sandi (née Hawkins), a former competitive water skier from Redwood City, and their two children, Lisa and Mark, in their late teens. He met Sandi during the rainy Crosby event at Pebble Beach in January 1965, when she was a spectator in a long leg cast (from a snow skiing accident) and had been offered shelter in a tournament tent; they were married later that year.

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (3)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other wins (3)

*1964 Northwest Open
*1973 Confidence Open
*1977 Spalding Invitational

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other senior wins (2)

*1983 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Roberto De Vicenzo)
*1984 Unionmutual Seniors Golf Classic (match play)

References

External links

*
State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame
– Golf
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funseth, Rod
American male golfers
PGA Tour golfers
PGA Tour Champions golfers
Golfers from Washington (state)
Golfers from California
University of Idaho alumni
Deaths from lung cancer in California
Sportspeople from Spokane, Washington
1933 births
1985 deaths