Monday, November 28, 2005
Fred Couples was shut out for the first time in 12 appearances.
LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) -- What a Skins Game it was for Fred Funk, who went from wearing a pink skirt on the third hole to walking away with nearly all the money.
"Wow," Funk said in disbelief Sunday on the 18th green, where he'd just won the final $550,000 and six skins, for a total of $925,000 and 15 skins in his first try.
Funk had a two-putt birdie on the par-5 18th, then clinched the record-setting victory when Tiger Woods missed an 8-foot birdie putt.
The 49-year-old Funk became the oldest Skins Game winner, and took all $700,000 available on Sunday.
"I'm still in shock that I got asked to be in this thing," said Funk, who was invited to his first Skins Game after winning the Players Championship in March. "I've always watched it on TV and was shocked to be part of it. It's something that I didn't even dream of, actually. First of all, I didn't dream that I'd win the Players Championship."
Good spirits
Before the made-for-TV tournament, Woods told Funk he'd never live it down if Annika Sorenstam outdrove him on even one hole. It happened on the third hole Saturday, and Funk good-naturedly pulled a pink skirt over his pants and finished the hole.
But Woods might not want to underestimate the short-but-accurate Funk anymore.
"It started off with some nice birdies at first, and after that Funky just took over," Woods said.
Coincidentally, Funk won $775,000 and 12 skins on two par-5s. The $925,000 and 15 skins were records for a rookie.
Almost as surprising as Funk winning practically the entire purse was Fred Couples, the King of Skins, getting shut out for the first time in 12 appearances.
"Getting nothing is not the end of the world," said Couples, who still holds the Skins Game career records with $3,515,000 and 77 skins. "I've gotten my share. So I'm tickled pink just to be here."
Woods won the other $75,000, on the third hole on Saturday. Sorenstam was shut out for the second straight year.
"This course is long for me to start with, and you put some wind and some firm greens, it made it really tough for me to get it close," said Sorenstam, the LPGA star playing in her third straight Skins Game. "It's an honor simply to come here. This is a great experience for me."
With more than half the purse up for grabs on the final hole, Funk played it brilliantly. As usual, his drive was in the middle of the fairway on the 524-yard, par-5 finishing hole, although Woods and Couples had more distance. Funk's approach shot left him with a 30-foot eagle putt, which curled just to the left, leaving him a tap-in for birdie.