Rod Funseth

James Rodney Funseth (April 3, 1933 – September 9, 1985) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour (now PGA Tour Champions).^[4][5]

Rod Funseth
Personal information
Full name	James Rodney Funseth
Born	(1933-04-03)April 3, 1933 Spokane, Washington
Died	September 9, 1985(1985-09-09) (aged 52) Napa, California
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Spouse	Sandi (Hawkins) Funseth[1] (m. 1965–1985, his death)
Children	1 son, 1 daughter
Career
College	University of Idaho (briefly attended)[2][3]
Turned professional	1956
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour (1962–79) Senior PGA Tour (1983–84)
Professional wins	9
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	3
PGA Tour Champions	1
Other	5
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	T2: 1978
PGA Championship	T8: 1965
U.S. Open	T10: 1977
The Open Championship	DNP

Amiable and low-key but less than confident,^[6] Funseth was one of longest hitters and fastest players of his era,^[2][5] but better known for a pessimistic attitude toward his game,^[7][8] He claimed that his "I'll never be able to make that shot" mental attitude of lowered expectations helped motivate him to play better. He was especially self-deprecating on his lack of putting prowess.^[9][10]

Early years

Born and raised in Spokane, Washington,^[11] Funseth's father was a men's clothing store operator and salesman, born in Sweden.^[2][12] Rod competed with his older brother Carl for city junior titles^[13] and graduated from North Central High School in 1951.^[14] Funseth briefly attended the University of Idaho in Moscow^[3][15] to study civil engineering, but did not graduate.^[16] He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.^[17]

Funseth returned to Spokane after a semester and worked in various jobs in Washington while competing as an amateur.^[18] One of these brief jobs was as a civilian draftsman at the Bremerton Navy Yard, west of Seattle.^[2] He won the British Columbia Amateur in 1956 and turned pro that fall, first in Palm Springs, California.^[19] In 1959, Funseth became an assistant pro under Masters champion Claude Harmon back east at Winged Foot,^[20] north of New York City and later at Thunderbird in Palm Springs.^[21] Funseth entered a handful of tour events in 1962, and received sponsorship of $800 per month from Spokane's Athletic Round Table (ART) in 1963 to allow him to play full-time. He played out of Esmeralda, a municipal course in east Spokane built in the mid-1950s. It was initially funded by ART (land and clubhouse) and was named for the group's mascot, a grinning cartoon mare.^[21][22] Funseth had the smiling horse insignia on his tour bag for several years, which invited frequent inquisitions.^[23] Keeping meticulous records of all his earnings, he reimbursed the ART to the last dollar.^[24][25]

PGA Tour

Funseth played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1963 through 1979 and won three tour events. The first was the Phoenix Open Invitational in 1965 at the Arizona Country Club, which came a week after losing a final round lead at the Bob Hope Classic in Palm Springs.^[26] Funseth's second win came eight years later at the Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open, the season-opener in 1973 at Riviera.^[27] His final PGA Tour win came at age 45 in 1978 at the Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open,^[11] which paid for his horse barn.^[28][29]

His best finish in a major championship was just months earlier, a tie for second at the Masters, one stroke behind Gary Player.^[30] Funseth was in the last pairing on Sunday and had a three-under 69, but Player carded a record-tying 64 (−8) for his third green jacket.^[31][32] Funseth birdied the par-5 15th hole, but parred the last three, with a putt left on the lip at the 16th and another narrowly missing on the final hole to force a playoff.^[33]

Funseth was known on tour as an avid fisherman,^[3][15] a passion shared by Johnny Miller,^[34] his next-door neighbor in Napa,^[1] and Jack Nicklaus.^[23] The three played in an exhibition golf match in Spokane in 1975,^[35] a rarity for Nicklaus at the time.^[36]

Senior Tour

Funseth became eligible to play on the Senior PGA Tour after reaching age 50 in April 1983. He had a great deal of immediate success, winning the unofficial Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (team event with Roberto De Vicenzo) in early May,^[37] and a nine-stroke victory at his tour debut at the Hall of Fame Tournament three weeks later in North Carolina at Pinehurst No. 2.^[6][38] Funseth also finished second to Billy Casper in a sudden-death playoff at the U.S. Senior Open in July.^[39]

Cancer

His career on the over-50 tour was cut short by terminal cancer, attributed to exposure to asbestos at the navy yard in Bremerton in his late teens.^[11][40] Told by physicians in January 1984 that he had four months to live, Funseth continued to play well on tour,^[41] and returned to defend his team title at the Liberty Mutual Legends in late April.^[42] He competed in 17 events in 1984, with three runner-up finishes and nine in the top-10, despite losing weight and strength. Funseth won a match play event in October in Maine, besting Bob Toski 2-up in the final for a winner's share of $30,000. Although a non-tour event, it included most of the top senior players of the day.^[43][44]

Death

Funseth's condition declined in 1985 as his body weight was reduced to 100 lb (45 kg) by September and his breathing assisted with oxygen.^[25] He died at age 52 at his home in Napa, California, beside the 12th hole of the Silverado Country Club,^[4] next door to friend Johnny Miller.^[1] In 1999, he was inducted posthumously into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame.^[45]

Personal

Funseth was survived by his wife Sandi (née Hawkins), a former competitive water skier from Redwood City,^[1] and their two children, Lisa and Mark, in their late teens.^[7][11] He met Sandi during the rainy Crosby event at Pebble Beach in January 1965, when she was a spectator in a long leg cast (from a snow skiing accident) and had been offered shelter in a tournament tent;^[2] they were married later that year.

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Feb 14, 1965	Phoenix Open Invitational	71-68-68-67=274	−14	3 strokes	Bert Yancey
2	Jan 7, 1973	Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open	73-69-65-69=276	−8	2 strokes	Don Bies, David Graham, Tom Weiskopf
3	Jul 30, 1978	Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open	65-67-68-64=264	−20	6 strokes	Dale Douglass, Lee Elder, Billy Kratzert

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	1971	Greater Greensboro Open	Buddy Allin, Dave Eichelberger	Allin won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (3)

• 1964 Northwest Open
• 1973 Confidence Open
• 1977 Spalding Invitational

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	May 22, 1983	Hall of Fame Tournament	66-67-65=198	−18	9 strokes	Charlie Sifford

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1983	U.S. Senior Open	Billy Casper	Lost to birdie on first extra hole after 18-hole playoff; Casper: +4 (75), Funseth: +4 (75)

Other senior wins (2)

• 1983 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Roberto De Vicenzo)
• 1984 Unionmutual Seniors Golf Classic (match play)