Knee Injury to Sideline Funk 4-6 Weeks

Fred Funk yesterday underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee that will keep him from playing competitive golf for the next four to six weeks.

A Laurel native and former University of Maryland golf coach who now lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Funk, 51, underwent the procedure at a hospital in Jacksonville, Fla., after his knee was drained Monday, a procedure that also revealed loose particles and minor cartilage damage.

Funk said his knee has been bothering him for some time and that he "tweaked it" getting out of a bunker at the 13th hole in the second round of the Players Championship last Friday. Funk missed the cut in an event he won three years ago, when he became the oldest champion in tournament history.

"It was bothering me, but I really didn't think it was bothering my golf game that much," Funk said. "But I've been playing lousy for three months now. I've drained it a few times, had it shot with cortisone, but I figured I probably ought to get it fixed and start all over again. Maybe it has been affecting my swing."

Funk still wants to divide his time between the PGA Tour and the senior Champions Tour, but mostly has had ordinary results on both circuits for much of the 2008 season. He'll likely return to the PGA Tour for the Travelers Championship near Hartford, Conn., June 19-22 and said he hoped to be back at full strength for the AT&T National two weeks later at Congressional.

Funk has played in eight events on each tour, with far more success on the Champions Tour. He won the season-opening Champions Tour event in Hawaii, but hasn't had a top 10 finish in his last three starts. On the regular tour, his best finish has been a tie for 10th at the Sony Open, also in Hawaii, but he hasn't made a cut in his last three tournaments and is 132nd on the money list with $218,883.

"I still want to play on the regular tour as much as I can because I still think I can be competitive out there," Funk said. "But I'm just as frustrated on the Champions Tour. I still have high expectations and big goals, and I know I just haven't been playing as well as I'm capable. I've been working real hard at it, but I'm not seeing any results.

"I've always had these little slumps before and been able to work myself out of it, and I'm hoping with some time off and getting the knee fixed things will turn around for me. But I can tell you, I just have not enjoyed playing golf these last few months. I go out, practice and prepare real hard and get no result, and that's the frustrating part."

Goydos All the Rage

It was a whirlwind 48 hours for Paul Goydos since his stirring playoff loss to Sergio García on Sunday at the Players Championship, and he said yesterday he's still having a hard time comprehending how many people were pulling for him to win over the weekend.

"I still don't have a good feel about how big a deal this was," Goydos said in a conference call with reporters from Duluth, Ga., where he's scheduled to play in the AT&T Classic starting today. He said someone sent him an e-mail telling him that "Goydos" was No. 5 on Google's list of most requested names on Saturday and No. 9 on Sunday.

"I'm trying to think what this nation is thinking of," he said.

By the time Goydos was finished with trophy presentations and news conferences Sunday night, the clubhouse was deserted, and he had no idea what to do with his courtesy car. So he loaded it up, drove out to the Jacksonville airport and checked into a budget motel unannounced, spending the rest of the evening calling friends and family back home in California, reading countless e-mails and watching highlights of the final round on the Golf Channel.

The next morning at the airport, still wearing his Long Beach State "Dirtbags" baseball team cap he bought the week before in a Charlotte airport shop for $13.99 ("If it's $30, I don't buy it," he said), a number of fellow travelers congratulated him for his play. He said he finally had to take off the cap for a bit of anonymity, but he also was mobbed by well-wishers on the plane.

"It was shocking," he said. "That's when I started thinking, 'What's going on here?' We generally don't remember who finished second. It's the great thing about golf. The outpouring of support from people who didn't even know me from Adam is incredibly touching. I don't have the vocabulary to describe it. . . . The thing I'm struggling with is how to thank everybody. I haven't figured out how to do that. It's been an incredible experience."

Gearing Up at Woodmore

The Nationwide Tour's Prince George's County Open begins next Thursday at the Country Club at Woodmore in Mitchellville, and tournament officials are advising spectators to park their cars at the nearby Six Flags America amusement park and take a free shuttle to the golf course.

Tournament officials also announced this week that a sponsor's exemption has been given to Tim O'Neal, who lost his full status on the Nationwide Tour for the 2008 season because of a poor performance in qualifying school. O'Neal was the only African American player on the Nationwide circuit in 2007 and has played the tour regularly since 2001.

Last Friday, two local golfers -- David Newsom of Leesburg and Phil Bowers of Woodbridge -- tied for first place in a qualifying event at Woodmore to get into the field. Another qualifier will be held Monday at Little Bennett and Laurel Hill, with each site advancing the top seven players into the tournament's main field.