Rod Funseth

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox golfer James Rodney Funseth (April 3, 1933 – September 9, 1985) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour (now PGA Tour Champions).[1][2]

Amiable and low-key but less than confident,[3] Funseth was one of longest hitters and fastest players of his era,[4][2] but better known for a pessimistic attitude toward his game,[5][6] He claimed that his "I'll never be able to make that shot" mental attitude of lowered expectations helped motivate him to play better. He was especially self-deprecating on his lack of putting prowess.[7][8]

Early years

Born and raised in Spokane, Washington,[9] Funseth's father was a men's clothing store operator and salesman, born in Sweden.[4][10] Rod competed with his older brother Carl for city junior titles[11] and graduated from North Central High School in 1951.[12] Funseth briefly attended the University of Idaho in Moscow[13][14] to study civil engineering, but did not graduate.[15] He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.[16]

Funseth returned to Spokane after a semester and worked in various jobs in Washington while competing as an amateur.[17] One of these brief jobs was as a civilian draftsman at the Bremerton Navy Yard, west of Seattle.[4] He won the British Columbia Amateur in 1956 and turned pro that fall, first in Palm Springs, California.[18] In 1959, Funseth became an assistant pro under Masters champion Claude Harmon back east at Winged Foot,[19] north of New York City and later at Thunderbird in Palm Springs.[20] Funseth entered a handful of tour events in 1962, and received sponsorship of $800 per month from Spokane's Athletic Round Table (ART) in 1963 to allow him to play full-time. He played out of Esmeralda, a municipal course in east Spokane built in the mid-1950s. It was initially funded by ART (land and clubhouse) and was named for the group's mascot, a grinning cartoon mare.[20][21] Funseth had the smiling horse insignia on his tour bag for several years, which invited frequent inquisitions.[22] Keeping meticulous records of all his earnings, he reimbursed the ART to the last dollar.[23][24]

PGA Tour

Funseth played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1963 through 1979 and won three tour events. The first was the Phoenix Open Invitational in 1965 at the Arizona Country Club, which came a week after losing a final round lead at the Bob Hope Classic in Palm Springs.[25] Funseth's second win came eight years later at the Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open, the season-opener in 1973 at Riviera.[26] His final PGA Tour win came at age 45 in 1978 at the Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open,[9] which paid for his horse barn.[27][28]

His best finish in a major championship was just months earlier, a tie for second at the Masters, one stroke behind Gary Player.[29] Funseth was in the last pairing on Sunday and had a three-under 69, but Player carded a record-tying 64 (−8) for his third green jacket.[30][31] Funseth birdied the par-5 15th hole, but parred the last three, with a putt left on the lip at the 16th and another narrowly missing on the final hole to force a playoff.[32]

Funseth was known on tour as an avid fisherman,[13][14] a passion shared by Johnny Miller,[33] his next-door neighbor in Napa,[34] and Jack Nicklaus.[22] The three played in an exhibition golf match in Spokane in 1975,[35] a rarity for Nicklaus at the time.[36]

Senior Tour

Funseth became eligible to play on the Senior PGA Tour after reaching age 50 in April 1983. He had a great deal of immediate success, winning the unofficial Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (team event with Roberto De Vicenzo) in early May,[37] and a nine-stroke victory at his tour debut at the Hall of Fame Tournament three weeks later in North Carolina at Pinehurst No. 2.[3][38] Funseth also finished second to Billy Casper in a sudden-death playoff at the U.S. Senior Open in July.[39]

Cancer

His career on the over-50 tour was cut short by terminal cancer, attributed to exposure to asbestos at the navy yard in Bremerton in his late teens.[9][40] Told by physicians in January 1984 that he had four months to live, Funseth continued to play well on tour,[41] and returned to defend his team title at the Liberty Mutual Legends in late April.[42] He competed in 17 events in 1984, with three runner-up finishes and nine in the top-10, despite losing weight and strength. Funseth won a match play event in October in Maine, besting Bob Toski 2-up in the final for a winner's share of $30,000. Although a non-tour event, it included most of the top senior players of the day.[43][44]

Death

Funseth's condition declined in 1985 as his body weight was reduced to Template:Convert by September and his breathing assisted with oxygen.[24] He died at age 52 at his home in Napa, California, beside the 12th hole of the Silverado Country Club,[1] next door to friend Johnny Miller.[34] In 1999, he was inducted posthumously into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame.[45]

Personal

Funseth was survived by his wife Sandi (née Hawkins), a former competitive water skier from Redwood City,[34] and their two children, Lisa and Mark, in their late teens.[5][9] He met Sandi during the rainy Crosby event at Pebble Beach in January 1965, when she was a spectator in a long leg cast (from a snow skiing accident) and had been offered shelter in a tournament tent;[4] they were married later that year.

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Feb 14, 1965 Phoenix Open Invitational 71-68-68-67=274 −14 3 strokes Template:Flagicon Bert Yancey
2 Jan 7, 1973 Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open 73-69-65-69=276 −8 2 strokes Template:Flagicon Don Bies, Template:Flagicon David Graham,
Template:Flagicon Tom Weiskopf
3 Jul 30, 1978 Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open 65-67-68-64=264 −20 6 strokes Template:Flagicon Dale Douglass, Template:Flagicon Lee Elder,
Template:Flagicon Billy Kratzert

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1971 Greater Greensboro Open Template:Flagicon Buddy Allin, Template:Flagicon Dave Eichelberger Allin won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (3)

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 May 22, 1983 Hall of Fame Tournament 66-67-65=198 −18 9 strokes Template:Flagicon Charlie Sifford

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1983 U.S. Senior Open Template:Flagicon Billy Casper Lost to birdie on first extra hole after 18-hole playoff;
Casper: +4 (75),
Funseth: +4 (75)

Other senior wins (2)

References

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External links

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