COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — My advice to all my golf friends: Watch the U.S. Senior Open this weekend on NBC.
You want entertainment? This is the ticket.
As if the amusement-park-like mountainside greens at The Broadmoor weren’t entertaining enough, a large black bear made an appearance Friday morning, lumbering across the 13th fairway and scaring the bejesus out of television moppet Dottie Pepper and hundreds of fans.
The bear, after causing a spectator stampede, nosed a few sack lunches that were left behind and then headed back into the woods.
And then there was Fred Funk, who is smarter than the average bear. Funk clearly has learned how to deal with the tricky greens and with the golfer gauntlet that includes the 10th, 11th and 12th holes on the East Course.
In the first round, these three holes played as the three hardest on the entire course. The par-4 10th was most difficult, with a scoring average of 4.63. Then came the par-3 12th, averaging 3.62. The par-4 11th was next at 4.51.
“I had to start there,” said Funk after the second round. “That was brutal. I was 2 over on those three holes and didn’t really mind.”
Funk is cool. He stays calm in the face of bears and bogeymen.
After a 5-under-par 65 in the first round, Funk fell to 2 under overall at one point in the second round. Then he brought it back, finishing with a two-putt birdie on his final hole (the 9th) for a 69.
“You know, I was 3 over after eight holes,” Funk reiterated, “and I really wasn’t that frustrated because I felt like I was still playing pretty good and thought I could make some birdies. I was hoping to get back to even par for the day, and I ended up getting to 1-under. So I was really pleased overall.”
Now it’s Fred Funk against the world.
I’ve been writing all week about the greens on the East Course at The Broadmoor. They are huge, collectively the biggest I’ve ever seen for any major championship (yes, I realize there are double greens at St. Andrews).
These greens are ringed by Donald Ross falloffs, and they are sloped severely enough to mightily confuse the golfers. Tom Kite putted his ball off the green on the par-3 8th, although there really was no way to stop the putt.
So, if wild putts and overall unpredictability are entertaining, it should be a crazy weekend at the U.S. Senior Open. Let me say it again: Great TV watching.
It’s not only the greens that are baffling to the players here. With an elevation of 6,400 feet, The Broadmoor is a constant challenge for distance control.
Tom Watson has a reputation for handling adversity better than any other golfer, but he seemed bemused by his distance miscalculations. “I just haven’t been able to hit my irons the proper distance,” he said. “It’s tough out there, and I can’t figure it out.”
Added 2006 U.S. Senior Amateur champion Mike Bell, who shot rounds of 78 and 77: “I never could get it. My brain just couldn’t accept the fact that the ball was flying so far. I hit a lot of shots over the greens.”
Meanwhile, Funk was plodding along. He doesn’t look like a world beater, but he is.
Famous for his accuracy off the tee, Funk has been swinging for the fences in the thin air of the Colorado mountains. “I’ve really gone after a few of them,” he admitted.
After two rounds, his driving average is 282.2 yards but uncharacteristically he has missed 12 of 28 fairways.
Regardless, he has hit 30 of 36 greens. This has allowed Funk to shoot two sub-70 rounds while totaling 63 putts, high for a golfer with a 134 total.
Heading into the weekend, Funk faces a potential obstacle -- a stiff neck that required attention from a physical therapist on the course.
“I hit my first tee shot on 10 and was walking off the tee,” Funk related. “My neck locked up ... I’ve had that happen to me before. Fortunately (today) I could turn my neck to the left. I couldn’t turn it to the right.
“My wife got the PT and kind of saved me, running to the PT. He helped me a lot. It got a little bit looser.”
After his round, Funk headed straight to therapy. No range balls or putting practice for him, because he is smarter than the average bear.
Posted: 8/1/2008
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