Fred ain't in a Funk after latest PGA Tour win

Good to see “Fairway” Fred Funk win the PGA Tour’s Mayakoba Golf Classic south of Cancun this past Sunday. I was privileged to visit the resort this past December with a few members of the golf press, and was most impressed with Greg Norman’s El Camaleon course. It’s a stunning amalgamation of jungle-lined fairways, ball-gobbling cenotes (mid-fairway caves that lead to underground rivers) ice-blue canals, rock quarries, and a couple of seaside par 3s.

The only downside to the trip was having my entire golf bag, and all contents therein, ripped off at the Cancun airport on the way home, but that’s another blog entry entirely.

The Funk-ster’s a wonder, though. He didn’t make it on Tour until he was 32, and has always been hampered by a lack of distance. Now at age 50 he’s currently ranked an anemic 165th, although as a wise man once remarked, “Straight is long.” He’s 4th in accuracy off the tee in ‘07, which has been the hallmark of his career, as he’s won the PGA Tour driving accuracy title seven times.

The win in Mexico continues his trend of winning second-tier events, though. Other than that massive Players Championship win in ‘05, Fred’s been mostly a B-lister, with trophies hoisted at the B.C. Open, Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic, Southern Farm Bureau Classic, and other lesser lights. But regardless of the prestige factor of his wins, he’s banked nearly 21 million bucks, and had a smile on his face practically the whole time. Someone to admire, don’t you think?