CHAMPIONS

• Funk cruises to first major title at Tradition

  
  

  Bend, OR (Sports Network) - Fred Funk had six birdies in the first 15 holes, then dropped three shots over the final three holes Sunday as he won his first major championship title by three shots at The Tradition, the Champions Tour's fourth major of the year.

  Funk closed with a three-under 69 to post 19-under-par 269. For Funk, it was his fourth Champions Tour win and first major title, which came one event after he tied for second at the U.S. Senior Open.

  "It actually feels good to win one of these majors. It feels really good to finish one off," said Funk, who collected $392,00 for the victory. "Obviously, two weeks at the Broadmoor I didn't quite finish one off, but it feels really good." Mike Goodes took second at 16-under-par 272 after a final-round, four-under 68 at Crosswater Golf Club at Sunriver Resort.

  Tom Watson (70) and Senior PGA Champion Jay Haas (73) shared third place at 14-under-par 274.

  Funk ran off three birdies in a four-hole span from the third to jump to 19- under, which gave him a five-shot lead.

  After four straight pars, Funk drained an eight-footer for birdie on the 11th to push his lead to six shots.

  Funk dropped in a six-foot birdie putt on 14th and came right back with a 14- footer for birdie at the 15th. After stumbling to a double-bogey on the par- five 16th, Funk had a long delay on 17.

  "I was on cruise-control until I hit 16 and I decided to play super conservative all of a sudden, first time all day, and it cost me," Funk explained.

  "It shook me when I made seven there. It didn't sit too well with me when I had such a big lead." There was a two-group wait on the 17th tee and while that back-up was thinning out, there was a one-hour, five-minute weather delay due to lightning in the area.

  Funk missed the green at the par-three and could not save par as he dropped to minus-19.

  However, he made a routine par at the last to seal the three-shot win.

  "It feels good to come in with a major win," Funk said.

  Goodes had two birdies and a bogey on the front nine. Around the turn, he collected four birdies and another bogey to finish in second at minus-16.

  "Starting off I just wanted to make some birdies. I wanted to get in the flow and hopefully make a few birdies," said Goodes, who collected $231,000 for second place, easily the biggest paycheck of his career.

  "I did. I birdied three and four, then bogeyed five. I didn't make anything else after that. I made the turn and saw what Fred was doing and knew I needed to have a good back nine to finish as high as possible." Scott Hoch closed with a one-under 71 to end alone in fifth at 13-under-par 275.

  Scott Simpson posted a two-under 70 and was one shot further back at minus-12.

  D.A.

  Weibring fired a five-under 67 Sunday to finish at 11-under-par 277. He was joined in a share of seventh by Tom Jenkins (68), Fuzzy Zoeller (68), Gene Jones (70), Loren Roberts (69), Bernhard Langer (71) and Lonnie Nielsen (70).

  U.S.

  Senior Open champ Eduardo Romero shot 70 on Sunday to end tied for 18th at minus-eight, while Senior British Open winner Bruce Vaughan tied for 41st at minus-two after a 71 in the final round.

  08/17 21:37:29 ET