"It's been a frustrating year,' Funk said. "I was playing solid and putting good, my mind was good then I hurt my back. ... That brought a lot of, for lack of a better word, issues for me and I tried to play through it but that led to the formation of bad habits."
When Funk injured his back at the tournament in Mexico, spot-on putting helped him play through the pain and win the tournament. After that, his season went on a roller coaster ride, as he eventually recovered for a five-week stretch only to injury himself again at the AT&T National.
He still tried to work through the pain, but it got so bad at the PGA Championship on Thursday that he nearly withdrew from the tournament and gave up golf for the year. But he found a light at the end of the tunnel on Thursday night in Tulsa when he saw his golf swing on video for the first time and realized that his injury had forced him to stand straight up over the ball, which was naturally causing problems with his swing.
"I feel like I'm heading in the right direction now," said Funk, who credits fixing his stance and correcting bad habits with giving him new hope. He's also playing nearly pain free this week, something he hasn't done in quite some time, after visiting a chiropractor in Oregon who worked wonders on his back.
"I'm excited about being here," Funk added, noting that he will play with Peter Jacobsen and D.A. Weibring in the first round. "They are both class acts. It's an honor -- I look up to both of them, I look up to everyone out here. I wouldn't say that I'm in awe, but I really respect how they handle themselves."
It helps that Funk doesn't have excessively high hopes heaped on him each week on the Champions Tour this year. When he debuted in 2006, Funk was considered the favorite each time he teed up, but now Jay Haas, Loren Roberts, Brad Bryant and others are winning often and making statements as regulars on the Champions Tour, while Funk continues to concentrate on the PGA TOUR and expects to do the same in 2008.
"It was different for me to have such high expectations on me. I've never really been favored. I was always a consistent player but was under the radar," said Funk.
Now that he can play with a little less pressure, Funk gets to be himself on the golf course. Which includes being just an average guy.
hmm
