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Rod Funseth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Rod Funseth (April 3, 1933 – September 9, 1985) was an American professional golfer who played on both the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour).
Funseth was born and raised in Spokane, Washington. Funseth was known for being one of the games long hitters in his time and for having a pessimistic attitude toward the game. Funseth claimed that his "I'll never be able to make that shot" mental attitude of lowered expectations helped motivate him to play better.[1]
Funseth played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1963–1979, and won three tournaments during this period. The first event he won was the 1965 Phoenix Open Invitational. His second win came at the 1973 Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open. His final Tour win came in 1978 at the Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open. Funseth's best finish in a major was a T-2 in the 1978 Masters which was won by Gary Player.
Funseth became eligible to play on the Senior PGA Tour after reaching his 50th birthday in April 1983. He had a great deal of success his first year on the Senior Tour winning the Hall of Fame Tournament, the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Roberto DeVicenzo), and finishing second to Billy Casper in a playoff at the U.S. Senior Open; however, this phase of his career would be cut short by terminal cancer.
Funseth died at the age of 52 at his home beside the 12th hole of the Silverado Country Club in Napa, California. He was survived by his wife Sandi and their two children, Lisa and Mark. In 1999, he was inducted posthumously into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame.
- 1965 Phoenix Open Invitational
- 1973 Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open
- 1978 Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open
- 1983 Hall of Fame Tournament
- 1983 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Roberto DeVicenzo)