Fred Funk holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole Sunday that led to his win at the Jeld-Wen Tradition; his second major title at the Clearwater Club in the last three years.
Funk had trailed Tom Lehman by two strokes heading into the final round, but he finished with a 3-under-par 69 and a 12-under total of 276 to edge out a packed field where nine golfers finished within three strokes of the winner. Michael Allen and Chien Soon Lu were runners-up at 11 under par. Lehman finished at 10 under.
“I was pretty shocked that no one was taking off,” said Funk, who celebrated his sixth Champions Tour win. “I didn’t think 12 under was going to do it. But, I’ll take it.”
Funk has been regaining his form slowly since knee replacement surgery last November.
“I’m not back all the way yet, but I’m back enough to where I can concentrate on my golf swing instead of my knee.”
That’s bad news for the early season front-runners on the Champions Tour.
By Craig Smith, former director of media relations for the U.S. Golf Association for 20 years.
(Permission granted for general or media use).
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