Fred Funk will Team With His Son, Taylor, to Host the Charles Schwab Youth Clinic on Tuesday of Tournament Week
One of the most popular players on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, Fred Funk will return to the Greater Seattle area for the second consecutive year, having committed to play in the 2009 Boeing Classic being held August 24-30 at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.
A member of the PGA Tour since 1989 and the Champions Tour since 2006, Funk has a total of 15 tournament wins (8 PGA, 3 Champions Tour, 4 Other events) over the course of his career. While he is one of the shortest drivers on the Tour, his driving accuracy is generally regarded as the best in the game and has finished in the top 5 in driving accuracy on the PGA Tour for the last 14 years (he currently sits in second position on the Champions Tour).
Splitting his time between the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, Funk has played in eight Champions Tour events this season thus far with four top-10 finishes to his credit including a recent T2 in a dramatic playoff at the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, IA. He began his ‘09 season late after suffering a staph infection in his right knee in late December 2008.
Above and beyond his commitment to the tournament competition, Funk has also agreed to serve alongside his 13-year-old son Taylor as the host of the Charles Schwab Youth Clinic on Tuesday, August 25th at noon. An annual tradition on the Tuesday of tournament week, kids participating in programs such as The First Tee of Greater Seattle, the Nutrition and Fitness for Life Program at Virginia Mason, Encompass-headquartered in the Snoqualmie Valley and other community groups will have the unique opportunity to learn some of the finer points of golf from Fred and Taylor Funk. A new element to this year’s clinic, participants will be invited to return to the tournament on Saturday to use the skills they’ve learned and hit balls on the driving range alongside Champions Tour players. The Charles Schwab Clinic begins at 12 noon and is free for all participants and spectators
Last season despite battling a bad right knee most of the year, Funk won two Champions Tour events (MasterCard Championship, JELD-WEND Tradition) and narrowly missed capturing the Charles Schwab Cup when he finished runner up to Jay Haas by a mere 12 points in the season long race. Funk also had one top-ten finish on the PGA Tour. In 2007, his first year on the Champions Tour, Funk accomplished a rare feat - victories on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. In addition to taking home titles at the AT&T Championship and Turtle Bay Championship, Funk earned his eighth PGA Tour win at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
His biggest success as a professional came in 2005 when he won both The Players Championship and the Skins Game. He was also a member of the United States teams at the 2003 and 2005 Presidents Cup and the 2004 Ryder Cup. He ranks 16th in Career Earnings on the PGA TOUR.
Other players who have already committed to this year’s tournament include past champions Tom Kite (2008, 2006), Denis Watson (2007) and David Eger (2005) as well as Andy Bean, Craig Stadler and Bernhard Langer.
The Boeing Classic is an Official Event of the PGA TOUR Champions Tour and in 2009 will celebrate its fifth anniversary. In the tournament’s four-year history, more than 2.9 million dollars has been raised for The Heart Institute at Virginia Mason Medical Center and additional Greater Seattle Charities. The 2009 event will be played at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge from August 24-30. Highlights during the course of the week include the Jim Mora Celebrity Golf Classic (August 24), the Charles Schwab Youth Clinic (August 25) and the Seahawks Pro-Am (August 26-27). Tournament competition will take place from August 28-30. For additional tournament information, log on to www.BoeingClassic.com.
- www.BoeingClassic.com -