Thank You For Being You Fred Funk

ABC had the Womens British, CBS had Tiger at the Buick, and NBC had the U.S. Senior Open. This was a golf fans dream. When one went to commercial, you could easily flip to another.

I love to watch golf on T.V. Honestly, I live for both the Open's. I enjoyed this years U.S. Open, with all of the story-lines like Phil coming back to play while his wife battled cancer and David Duval's comeback, but Lucas Glover winning was about as exciting as a trip to the dentist.

At this years British, I could not get enough of Tom Watson's play for 71 holes. Eventhough he collapsed, he showed class in defeat. The eventual winner, Stewart Cink, seems to be one of the good guys. He was genuinely emotional upon winning his first major and never once threw a tantrum when he hit a bad shot. Something that could not be said for the number one player in the world. I was completely put off by the routine club slamming and swearing of Tiger Woods. Karma caught up with him though, as he went trunk slamming for the weekend.

Which brings me to this weekend. I was watching the Buick, intent on seeing some good golf. What I saw was a watered down Tiger Woods. He did not show a ton of emotion and still slammed his club on very poor shots, yet was the main focus of CBS, because after all he is, Tiger Woods.

I got tired of watching this so I casually flipped over to the U.S. Senior. What I saw was amazing. Grown men competing for a national championship who had genuine enthusiasm for the game. So, today I watched, and I enjoyed the battle of men in their 50's for the Open crown. Names that I knew, Greg Norman, Fred Funk and Loren Roberts and some that I did not. There was even an amateur in the hunt. And, in the end, Fred Funk emerged victorious.

Yes, Fred Funk, the man who once wore a skirt after being out driven by Annika. Fred Funk, the man who slammed his hat down when making the biggest put of his career at the 18th at Sawgrass. And now Fred Funk U.S. Senior Open Champion. What is the first thing he says after winning arguably the biggest title of his career, that he wants prayers to be sent out to Ken Green and Phil Mickelson's family. What? A golfer with a huge sense of humility, that can't be.

So, as the major season winds down and the networks ratchet up the talk of Tiger not winning a major yet this year, I say THANK YOU Fred Funk. I hope that all golfers can and will take a lesson from you.