US Tour: Fred Funk birdied three of the last four holes to finish off a final-round six-under par 66 and win the Southern Farm Bureau Classic by a stroke on Sunday, his first PGA Tour victory in six years.
The 48-year-old US Ryder Cup player equalled the course record at Annandale Golf Club with a 22-under 266 to win for the sixth time in his career and the first time since he won at Annandale in 1998. It was a big win for Funk, who fell from the top 50 and didn't qualify for the World Golf Championship in Mount Juliet last week.
"It's been a long, long road since '98," Funk said.
Funk had seven birdies and a bogey to become the second two-time Tour winner at the par-72, 7,199-yard course.
Funk surged to the top of the leaderboard with a 64 on Saturday, and held off Ryan Palmer's challenge in the final round.
He predicted after the second round he would need to close with consecutive rounds of seven under to have a chance, then shot 14 under par during the final two days.
Palmer (28) had his first top-10 finish on the Tour. He had a chance to go to 23 under on 18, but he left his eagle putt inches short and tapped in for birdie. Palmer birdied 10 holes.
Playing in the afternoon's final pairing, Funk said he tried to keep his eyes off the leaderboard, but he inadvertently caught a glimpse of it while he was on the back nine. I wondered 'Where did all these (under) 20s come from?' " Funk said. "I figured somebody would get to 21 for sure."
It also was Funk's sixth top-10 finish this year; he finished second in Milwaukee in July.
SOUTHERN FARM BUREAU CLASSIC
(Annandale GC, Madison)
(USA unless stated, par 72)
266 - Fred Funk 69 67 64 66
267 - Ryan Palmer 69 68 66 64
268 - Glen Day 65 70 70 63, Loren Roberts 66 69 68 65, Kevin Na (Kor) 71 65 66 66, J J Henry 70 67 66 65
269 - Kirk Triplett 69 69 65 66
270 - Tim Clark 68 69 67 66, Jonathan Byrd 70 69 66 65
271 - Greg Chalmers (Aus) 68 67 67 69, Pat Bates 69 66 68 68, Chris Couch 70 63 68 70, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 67 69 67 68
272 - Dan Briggs 72 65 69 66, Rodney Pampling (Aus) 69 71 68 64, Steve Allan (Aus) 69 69 67 67, John Senden (Aus) 65 68 69 70
