Frederick Funk (born June 14, 1956) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who plays on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

and

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

Early life

Fred Funk was born in

Takoma Park, Maryland Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea C ...

. 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 High Point High School (HPHS) is a Public school (government funded), public high school located in Beltsville, Maryland, Beltsville, an unincorporated area, unincorporated section of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The school, ...

Beltsville, Maryland Beltsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in northern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The community was named for Truman Belt, a local landowner. The 2020 census counted 20,133 residents. Beltsville includes the unincorporated ...

. Funk went to the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

, but was cut from the golf team in 1975. He transferred to

Prince George's Community College Prince George's Community College (PGCC) is a public community college in Largo in Prince George's County, Maryland. The college serves Prince George's County and surrounding areas, including Washington, D.C. History Founded in 1958, Prince ...

, 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 ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Star ...

''. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1980 with a degree in law enforcement. He turned professional in 1981, but worked as a golf coach at UM from 1982 to 1988.

PGA Tour career

After also playing in a few PGA Tour event for several years beginning in 1982 but with little success, Funk finally became a member of the

in 1989, playing in 29 official tournaments and several unofficial ones. He earned his biggest paycheck to date with $12,500 in a tie for ninth in the Chattanooga Classic. In 1990, he struggled with consistency, missing the cut in nearly half the tournaments he entered. However, there were some bright spots, including a T-3 to earn $34,800 in the Chattanooga Classic as well as a fifth-place finish in the

Buick Open The Buick Open was a PGA Tour golf tournament from 1958 to 2009. In 2007, the tournament was held at the end of June, a change from its traditional spot between The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. Regardless, many prominent players use ...

to pocket $40,000. In 1991 he had slightly more success, with top-10 finishes in five tournaments. Funk broke through in 1992 with his most successful year to date, including his first PGA Tour win. In May, he captured the

Shell Houston Open The Cadence Bank Houston Open is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played in November. As a part of a restructuring of the schedule, the event moved to the fall in 2019. Because the tour year starts the previous fall, the ...

with a 16-under score for a two-stroke win over

Kirk Triplett Kirk Alan Triplett (born March 29, 1962) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and PGA Tour Champions. Early years Born in Moses Lake, Washington, Triplett grew up on the Palouse in Pullman and gradu ...

and winnings of $216,000. In 1995, he won his second PGA Tour tournament with a score of 16-under at the 1995 Ideon Classic, for which he earned $180,000. He followed that up with a win just two months later at the Buick Challenge, with another 16-under for $180,000. Funk was a member of the United States teams at the 2003 and 2005

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

and the 2004

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

. He received some criticism in 2004 for opting out of

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, one of the tour's four

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

tournaments, despite having qualified. He played instead in that week's

B.C. Open The B.C. Open was a PGA Tour golf tournament in New York, held annually from 1971 to 2006. In 1971, it was called the Broome County Open, and the next year it switched to the B.C. Open. In 1973, it became a PGA Tour regular 72-hole money event. F ...

, a much less prestigious event, but one which also offered Ryder Cup ranking points. In 2005, Funk scored his biggest PGA Tour win when he captured

The Players Championship The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as The PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The P ...

, 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. Since turning 50 in June 2006, Funk has been eligible for Champions Tour events and debuted in the 2006

U.S. Senior Open The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the Eu ...

. When he turned 50, he still featured in the top 50 of the

Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

. He won a further PGA Tour tournament, his eighth career win, in 2007 after his senior debut, becoming only the second over-50 player to win on the PGA Tour in 31 years. That win came at the first

Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun The World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Mexico, held at Playa del Carmen, south of Cancún. It debuted in February 2007 and was the first PGA Tour event in Mexico this century. Hist ...

, an alternate event to the

WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship The WGC Match Play, currently titled as the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play for sponsorship reasons, is a professional men's golf tournament that has been held since 1999. It is the only one of the World Golf Championships to have been contested ...

, so none of the world's top 64 ranked players were in the field. By winning the Mayakoba Golf Classic, Funk became the first man to win a PGA Tour event held in Mexico and, at age 50 years, 8 months and 12 days, became the fifth-oldest champion in PGA Tour history and the oldest since

Art Wall Jr. Arthur Jonathan Wall Jr. (November 25, 1923 – October 31, 2001) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the Masters Tournament in 1959 Masters Tournament, 1959. Early life Wall was born and raised in Honesdale, Pennsylvania ...

(51 years, 7 months, 10 days) at the 1975

Greater Milwaukee Open The Greater Milwaukee Open was a regular golf tournament in Wisconsin on the PGA Tour. For 42 years, it was played annually in the Milwaukee area, the final sixteen editions in the north suburb of Brown Deer at the Brown Deer Park Golf Course. U. ...

. Funk is generally regarded as one of the shortest drivers on today's PGA Tour, but is always at or near the top of the driving accuracy statistics. In fact, many of his playing competitors are now regarding him as perhaps the straightest driver to ever play golf; in the past 14 years, Funk has achieved the highest driving accuracy on the

seven times, and has been in the top five of this statistic for every year but one in that period. On March 28, 2005, Funk picked up the biggest win of his career, becoming the oldest player ever to win

. He also won the unofficial

Skins Game A skins game is a type of scoring for various sports. It has its origins in golf but has been adapted for disc golf, curling and bowling. Golf In golf, a skins event has players compete for prize money on each individual hole. Skins Game, PGA T ...

tournament, during which, to satisfy a friendly bet, he wore a pink skirt that

Annika Sörenstam Annika Charlotta Sörenstam (; born 9 October 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer. She is regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 90 inter ...

pulled out of her golf bag when she outdrove Funk on the par-five third hole. The skirt was actually picked out by Funk's wife, Sharon. In August 2008, Funk won his first senior major, the

JELD-WEN Tradition The Tradition (known as the Regions Tradition for sponsorship reasons) is an event on the PGA Tour Champions. First staged in 1989, the PGA Tour recognizes the event as one of the five senior major golf championships. Unlike the U.S. Senior Ope ...

. After years of chronic knee pain, Funk underwent a total knee replacement in 2009. 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 Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...

, surviving a playoff. In August 2009, Funk won his second major championship on the Champions Tour at the 2009

Crooked Stick Golf Club Crooked Stick Golf Club is a golf club located in Carmel, Indiana, a suburb north of Indianapolis. The 18-hole Pete and Alice Dye designed golf course was built in 1964. It has been noted as one of the top 100 courses in the United States by ' ...

Carmel, Indiana Carmel is a suburban city in Indiana immediately north of Indianapolis. With a population of 100,777, the city spans across Clay Township in Hamilton County, Indiana, and is bordered by the White River to the east; the Hamilton-Boone county ...

. Funk dominated the rest of the field and cruised to a six-stroke victory over

Joey Sindelar Joseph Paul Sindelar (born March 30, 1958) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He previously played on the PGA Tour, winning seven tournaments between 1985 and 2004. Early life Sindelar was born in ...

. 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. A popular player on tour, his fans are referred to as "Funk's Punks." The iconic songs —

Play That Funky Music "Play That Funky Music" is a song written by Rob Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The single was the first released by the Cleveland-based Sweet City record label in April 1976 and distributed by Epic Records. The performers on th ...

and Give Up the Funk — have become theme songs for the fan favorite. Funk has publicly endorsed a number of products including clubs, greens, and golf balls. He maintains professional relationships with Southwest Greens,

TaylorMade TaylorMade Golf Company is an American sports equipment manufacturing company based in Carlsbad, California, United States. The company focuses on the golf equipment market, producing golf clubs, balls, and clothing. TaylorMade Golf is currently ...

for its clubs,

Titleist Titleist (pronounced "title-ist") is an American brand name of golf equipment produced by the Acushnet Company, headquartered in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, United States. The Titleist brand, established in 1932 by Phillip E. Young, focuses on gol ...

golf balls, and Stryker Orthopaedics. As of the 2013–14 season at age 57, Funk currently still plays 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

Funk married his wife, Sharon (Archer), in 1994. They currently reside in

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Ponte Vedra Beach is a wealthy unincorporated seaside community and suburb of Jacksonville, Florida in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located southeast of downtown Jacksonville and north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jackso ...

. They had a son, Taylor Christian, in 1995. He played golf for

Ponte Vedra High School Ponte Vedra High School (PVHS) is a public high school in the St. Johns County School District, located in Nocatee census-designated place, - Compare with school zone maps. northeast St. Johns County, Florida. The high school was constructed to ...

and won the Florida 2A state championship in October 2013 and later the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. Taylor turned professional in 2017. They have a daughter, Perri Leigh, born in 1999. Fred has a son, Eric Justin, born in 1991 during Fred's first marriage, which ended in 1992; Eric graduated from Virginia Tech in 2013. Funk has been enshrined in both the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame as well as the state of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame. Funk was erroneously featured as a correct answer in the 50th edition of the World's Largest Trivia Contest in 2019.

Professional wins (29)

PGA Tour wins (8)

''*Note: The 1996 B.C. Open was shortened to 54 holes due to weather.'' PGA Tour playoff record (2–3)

Other wins (12)

*1977

Middle Atlantic PGA Championship The Middle Atlantic PGA Championship is a golf tournament that is the championship of the Middle Atlantic section of the PGA of America. The tournament has been played annually since 1932 in Virginia, Maryland, or Washington, DC. Fred Funk, eight- ...

*1978

*1979

*1983

Maryland Open The Maryland Open is the Maryland state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Maryland State Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1921 at a variety of courses around the state. I ...

*1984 Foot-Joy PGA Assistant Professional Championship *1987

*1988

*1989

*1993 Mexican Open *2005 Merrill Lynch Skins Game (unofficial money event-PGA Tour), CVS Charity Classic (with

Chris DiMarco Christian Dean DiMarco (born August 23, 1968) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. DiMarco has won seven tournaments as a pro, including three PGA Tour events. Early years Born in Huntington, New York, DiMarco m ...

)

PGA Tour Champions wins (9)

Champions Tour playoff record (0–3)

Results in major championships

WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (1993 U.S. Open – 1994 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)

The Players Championship

Wins (1)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Senior major championships

Wins (3)

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order before 2022.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

U.S. national team appearances

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

(tie),

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

(winners) *

UBS Cup The UBS Cup was a team golf tournament contested by the United States and a team representing the "Rest of the World" which ran from 2001 to 2004. In 2001 and 2002 it was called the UBS Warburg Cup. Six golfers on each side had to be 50 or over, and ...

: 2002 (winners), 2004 (winners) *

Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge The Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge was an unofficial golf event held in November at the Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada. The tournament was a unique stroke play event, and, as the name suggests, pitted three teams, with three members per team, ...

(representing Champions Tour): 2007, 2008 (winners), 2009, 2012, 2013

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Funk, Fred American male golfers Maryland Terrapins men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Winners of senior major golf championships Golfers from Maryland Golfers from Jacksonville, Florida People from Takoma Park, Maryland Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Maryland 1956 births Living people

Early life

PGA Tour career

Personal life

Professional wins (29)

PGA Tour wins (8)

Other wins (12)

PGA Tour Champions wins (9)

Results in major championships

Summary

The Players Championship

Wins (1)

Results timeline

Results in World Golf Championships

Senior major championships

Wins (3)

Results timeline

U.S. national team appearances

See also

References

External links