Funk's peashooters spot on

Players Championship:   Does age matter? Does power off the tee have a greater premium than accuracy? Apparently not, or Fred…

Players Championship:  Does age matter? Does power off the tee have a greater premium than accuracy? Apparently not, or Fred Funk wouldn't be the newest Players champion.

The 48-year-old, who owns a home less than five minutes drive from the TPC at Sawgrass, defied stiff winds and the strongest field of the year on the US Tour to claim the seventh, but most important, win of his career.

In becoming the oldest winner of this unofficial "fifth" major, a tournament plagued by disruptive weather forces and now likely to be switched to a May date, probably in 2007, Funk not only collected a cheque for $1.4 million but also received a five-year exemption on tour and three-year exemptions into the US Masters and the British Open. For someone who had his eyes focused on moving on to the Champions Tour, it has left him with some decisions to make.

One thing that hasn't changed, however, is Funk's determination to make the Ryder Cup team for the match at The K Club next year.

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"To make the Presidents Cup team and the Ryder Cup team the last two years has been phenomenal for me, way beyond my expectations if you'd asked me back in the middle of my career. Even though I'm not trying to validate or prove anything to anyone, I fell like my goal is just to see how good I can be and how good I can get.

"I have some very strong goals left. I want to make the Presidents Cup team (this year), that was my goal for this year. And next year? If there's any way I can get on that Ryder Cup team in Ireland, to try and do a little better than we did the last time. It was such a great experience in Oakland Hills, even in our loss. It was an unbelievable experience."

In fading light on Monday evening, after a day when winds gusting to 40 miles per hour inflicted pain and misery on many players, notably Bob Tway who took 12 strokes to complete the par-three 17th hole in his third round, Funk remained invincible to the end. His winning total of nine-under-par 279 was one stroke better than Luke Donald, Scott Verplank and Tom Lehman, who will captain the US team at The K Club in 18 months' time.

As Funk demonstrated, power isn't always the key to winning titles. Ranked number one in driving accuracy but 181st in distance, Funk overcame three-putting three of the last five greens to win.

"All these power guys and I'm hitting little peashooters out there. You can be long and crooked, but you can't be short and crooked," joked Funk, who had posted his score ahead of Donald playing in the final group and who had a chance to draw level if he'd managed a birdie on the final hole.

It was a tough ask.

The 18th hole had played as the toughest throughout the tournament and, in the final round, didn't give up a solitary birdie. Donald, though, gave it his best shot, hitting a four-iron approach that drifted right just off the green into a hollow. His birdie putt grazed the hole, but didn't drop.

"I was surprised he putted it. I thought he had a better chance of making it with a chip than putting through the fringe, because the fringe was kind of gluey," commented Funk, who had made a sand save on the 72nd hole to salvage par and set the target for the Englishman.

"I'm proud of myself, to give myself a chance for birdie on that hole," said Donald. "I don't know too many people who would have made birdie there today, but at least I gave it a try."

Donald's second runner-up finish on the US Tour this season earned him $597,333 and moved him to seventh on the tour money list with $1,360,426 in earnings this season. He has stuck with his plan to play this week's BellSouth Classic in Atlanta, prior to heading on to the Masters at Augusta.

For someone who first started out as a club professional and a college coach, Funk - a self-described "Herbie The Love Bug" - won the Players Championship to demonstrate he has improved with age.

It was his sixth tour win and he became just the fourth player in his 40s to win the title, joining Lee Trevino (1980), Calvin Peete (1985) and Hal Sutton (2000). The victory also brought his career earnings to over $16 million in his 17-year history on the US Tour.

For the three Irish players in the field, it proved to be a disappointing finish after some promising starts.

Graeme McDowell finished on 290 in tied-40th (for $30,400); Padraig Harrington on 295 in tied-63rd (for 16,800), and Darren Clarke also finished in that position.

The trio don't resume tournament play until next week's Masters at Augusta.